Worse for Wear
by Kvhottie
Summary: Fated encounters at a bar or even at a bookstore can be the start of something complicated– something like love. A story in which Kageyama and Hinata are somewhat jaded 25-year–olds who find the warmth they've been unconsciously yearning for in each other.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

"I'm only coming with you because you won't shut up about this dude and his short friend. Judging from your taste, I bet they wont be that cute."

Tsukishima glared and tapped his commuter pass at the exit gate, "The pot calling the kettle black. Your taste is also shit."

Kageyama did the same and returned to pass to the wallet in his back pocket, "Yeah right. You haven't ever seen me take anyone home."

"How about that Shino-something dude you hooked up with senior year?"

"That doesn't fucking count. I was desperate. There were like five gay guys that I knew, including you– I had a limited pool to choose from." Kageyama adjusted his black-framed glasses, he was regretting not wearing his contacts tonight.

"What? And I wasn't good enough for the King?" Tsukishima scoffed.

"Ugh, asshole. I just pictured it for a second there."

"What kind of image was it?"

Kageyama stopped at the crosswalk, "Just drop it already. Why are we even friends? You are such a pain."

Tsukishima shrugged, "Because you are an idiot with no one else to call a friend, so it's convenient."

"I have other friends."

"Name one."

"…." Kageyama clicked his tongue, "Fine. I get your point."

Near Sendai there was exactly one bar people like Kageyama often frequented: Honki Talk. Although there were similar bars farther out in Miyagi Prefecture, this was the only one that had a respectable variety of men and an ambience that suit his picky taste. Additionally, it was close enough to his house to not be considered a hassle. He usually came to this bar around once a month when he had to deal with his sexual frustrations. This was the first time he was going with Tsukishima and only because the lamp pole had coerced him to be his wingman. He spouted something about a cute, freckled dude and this other guy, supposedly pretty cute but not Tsukishima's type, to whom he was attached at the hip. Kageyama was here today to do something about the short dude.

The bar was on the third floor of a neat little complex, which conveniently had a Chinese restaurant on the first floor. The times that he bought take-out from that restaurant on an unlucky night exceeded double digits by now. Kageyama opened the door, the bell above announcing their presence, and took in the scene.

"Where should we sit?" he whispered to Tsukishima.

"At a four-person table, duh. That'd give them the chance approach us and sit."

Kageyama walked to a dim table near the counter, "Considering how into this guy you are, I don't understand why you're being so passive."

Tsukishima laughed, "Kageyama, how long have you known me for? You should know the answer to that by now."

"Yeah. You are an unmotivated jerk who likes to act like he doesn't care when he actually does. I get it."

"Exactly."

Kageyama sighed, "That's going to come bite you in the ass. What if this guy hasn't even noticed you?"

"Oh trust me, he has." Tsukishima smirked, "Don't look right now but the guy I was talking about is on the far left of the counter. And his friend is the guy with the orange hair. They keep looking over at us."

"I'll go get us some drinks and get a better look. What do you want?"

Tsukishima passed Kageyama a thousand yen bill, "Get me a ginger ale highball."

"Ok."

Kageyama walked to the counter and ordered their drinks, deciding on a spicy Moscow mule for himself. He occasionally glanced over at Tsukishima's fuck-interest and co. out of curiosity. The former had neck length, dark brown hair that he gathered in a half-up, half-own ponytail and a face full of, yeah, pretty endearing freckles. He certainly looked like the type of guy Tsukishima would go for. Although he was tall, his whole attitude screamed newly born fawn. The type that seemed easy to bully, certainly a perfect match for the lamp pole. His friend, on the other hand, was shining like the fucking sun. It probably had to do with the bright orange, pixie cut he had and the wide smile plastered on his face. Though, with that height, the guy looked like he just graduated middle school. But Kageyama had to admit, he was really cute. It pissed him off that Tsukishima knew he had a weak spot for small things.

"Your drinks."

Kageyama paid and took their drinks from the bartender while looking over at the short guy again. Their eyes met and he made sure to keep the contact for a few seconds longer to get the message across; they were wingmen and it was in both of their interest to get this moving along as quickly as possible. After the brief stare-down, Kageyama took the drinks and walked back to the table. He passed Tsukishima his drink and change, making sure to sit across from him so that the seat next to each of them would be empty.

As if right on cue, a silvery voice breaks though the momentary silence, "Can we join you guys?"

Kageyama nodded, "Yeah."

Mr. pixie-hair pushed his taller friend towards the empty seat next to Tsukishima and then took the seat by Kageyama. He turned to Kageyama with a grin, "What should we call you guys?"

"I'm Kageyama, this guy is Tsukishima."

"See Yamaguchi, asking for names isn't that hard." He laughed, "My name is Hinata. My shy, bumbling friend is Yamaguchi."

"Yamaguchi, huh." Tsukishima muttered, resting his eyes on the blushing fawn next to him.

"So Kageyama…" Hinata winked, "Why don't you treat me to a drink at the counter?"

"Yeah, sure." Kageyama followed Hinata away from whatever flirting mess the other two were about to become.

Once at the counter, Hinata ordered himself a mojito and sat down with a relieved sigh. He patted the seat next to him to urge Kageyama to sit, "It'll probably take them a while to decide to leave together so lets get acquainted."

Kageyama sat down, a bit taken aback by Hinata's bluntness, "That's true."

"Yamaguchi wouldn't shut up about your blond friend, you know. But since he is such a wuss I had to come again as his wingman."

"Hmm."

"Your drink."

Hinata took his drink and reached for his back pocket to pay, but Kageyama intercepted, "I'll handle it."

Hinata laughed through his nose, "No, you wont. I was just joking about that."

Kageyama's eyes widened, no one he'd earnestly offered to pay a drink for had ever rejected him, "Is that so." He retracted his hand and took a sip of his drink, a bit offended by the blow to his ego.

Hinata paid for his drink and sipped on it happily, "Mm. I love this bartender's drinks."

"They're pretty good."

"Wow. Do you ever say more than three words?"

Kageyama glared at the midget, "I changed my mind. You are only cute when you are quiet and at a distance."

Hinata stuck his tongue out, "There you go! Some personality. But you just admitted that there are moments you think I'm cute."

Kageyama rolled his eyes and rested his chin on his palm, "Yeah, yeah. God, you are annoying."

"Says mister dark and brooding. How do you ever land anyone with that attitude?"

"With magic."

"Oh, you do have a sense of humor." He tapped the counter, "So, Kageyama, how old are you?"

"I'm 25, you?"

"Same."

Kageyama chugged the last bit of his drink, "You look like you are 15, though."

"If that was supposed to be a diss, you need to try harder. I get that all the time from people who are just jealous of my youth."

"Isn't it annoying to get carded all the time?" Kageyama sneered.

"Well, yeah, that's annoying. But I can live with that. You'll be the one crying when you get forehead wrinkles in a few years."

Kageyama unconsciously touched his forehead, "I will not!"

"You will if you keep furrowing your eyebrows like that. It's a waste of your good face."

"Heh, so you think I have a good face?"

"That goes without saying. Don't let it get to your huge ego, though."

Kageyama pinched the bridge of his nose, right above his glasses, "You're infuriating."

"Oh, looks like you guys are getting along swell," commented the grating voice Kageyama grew to, partially, but only barely, tolerate.

Kageyama turned around to see a damn triumphant-looking Tsukishima with an arm around Yamaguchi's neck. The fact that he looked like a peacock who just won his mating dance deeply amused Kageyama; it was the farthest from bored he'd ever seen the guy look. "You guys are finally heading out? You didn't even need me here."

Tsukishima smirked, "Probably. But since I know what makes you go weak at the knees, I figured as my thanks, I'd introduce you to orange-head over there. See ya."

Yamaguchi waved at Hinata, "Bye Shou-chan. Thanks a lot." And with that, the lamp pole and the newborn fawn left the bar.

"Well, I guess our job here is done!" Hinata finished his mojito, "Are you hungry? Want to grab some Chinese food with me?"

Kageyama shrugged, "Sure. I am a bit hungry. And I guess I can tolerate you for a while longer."

Hinata smiled, "Perfect."

They head downstairs to the desolate Chinese restaurant. The busy hours were usually after the bar closed, which was around one, but it was barely even twelve right now. Hinata ordered a sweet-and-sour chicken with rice set, and Kageyama went with his usual fried rice and lo mein combination. It was a bit too quiet. Kageyama was actually starting to wonder why his talkative companion became so silent. But like usual, he didn't bother asking. After a few minutes they received their food and sat side-by-side at the window counter to start eating.

Hinata cleared his throat, "Good for them, right? I think Yamaguchi may like Tsukishima a bit too much, though. More than a one-night stand kind of thing."

"Oh…" Kageyama swallowed a spoonful of fried rice while thinking, "Well, even though Tsukishima is an ass most of the time, I think this time around it'll be okay. He looked really happy back there."

"That was happy?"

"Believe me, happier than I have ever seen him. So I don't think you have to worry too much."

Hinata chuckled, "That's great."

Now finished with his friend rice, Kageyama moved on to inhale his lo mein. "When did you and Yamaguchi become friends?" he managed in between bites.

"Hmm, well, he works at a hair salon near my work. We met a few years ago after I asked him to cut my hair like this. Since then I can't trust anyone but him with my hair."

"Huh. I wouldn't picture him as a hair stylist, but he must be good. That hair cut really suits you."

Hinata's cheeks reddened a bit, "Oh, is this the 'magic' you were talking about before? You're actually kind of charming when you aren't being a jerk."

Kageyama grinned, "Even while blushing you are still just as annoying. I'm barely even trying, you know."

"Really? And here I thought you were trying to swoon me." Hinata wipes his lips with a napkin and returns the empty containers back inside the plastic bag, "How did you meet Tsukishima? I can't figure out if you guys are actually friends yet."

"I think we are, maybe. We were roommates sophomore year of college and even though we hated each other's guts, we just kept rooming together. It's a shitty friendship but I think we've gotten used to each other. He'd help me out if I truly needed it, probably."

"You don't sound too sure."

"I'm not." Kageyama grabbed his trash and Hinata's, "Our relationship is fine the way it is now. Neither of us really cares to stress the details."

They stood up from the counter and threw out their trash, leaving the restaurant just as some people started to trickle in. It had gotten just a bit chillier outside, but not enough to urge another layer or anything like that. Hinata had grown quiet again, contemplating something inside that tiny head of his. Kageyama looked down at him as they walked, partially because the silence felt awkward and partially because Hinata's orange hair really piqued his interest. It looked really soft.

"Hey, is it true that I have something that might make you weak in the knees? Tsukishima said something like that."

Kageyama stuffed his hands in his jean pockets, "I mean, I guess. Minus all your talking, you are cute and tiny. Tsukishima knows I like cute and tiny things."

"I'm not tiny."

Kageyama raised an eyebrow, "You are half my size. I think I have the right to call you tiny."

Hinata crossed his arms, "Fine. But…"

"But, what?"

"I don't talk when I'm moaning" Hinata beamed, as if was stating his favorite ice-cream flavor.

Kageyama literally choked on his spit. That line was such a damn curveball he stopped walking and just stared at the mini sun in front of him, "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"I don't really know if this would count as seducing but yes, I am asking if you want to have sex with me."

"A bit abrupt, don't you think?"

"Well, this whole situation is out of the ordinary. I figured being as direct as possible would get through to you faster."

"That's true."

"So, yes or no?"

Kageyama looked down at Hinata again, tracing the contours of his face and then proceeding to trace the visible contours of his body. If he had to be honest with himself, he really wouldn't mind seeing Hinata's little, pale frame trembling under his. In that aspect, at least, Hinata was totally his type. "Yes."

"Good," Hinata grabbed Kageyama's hand and started walking, "I know a place."

* * *

They ended up walking into Hotel Elegance, a far from elegant, blindingly gaudy motel a few blocks away from the bar. After opting for the most normal room the hotel had available, neither of them particularly interested in cosplaying or bondage, they split the bill and rode the elevator to the 6th floor in search for the room. Again, it was silent. They were in the process of mental preparation. An odd thing, really, that there was a need to be in a certain mindset to have a one-night stand with someone. Kageyama's usual process was to somewhat disassociate; today's Kageyama doesn't necessarily have to be tomorrow's Kageyama. If both parties gave their consent and everything went smoothly, what happened tonight should not follow them into their daily lives. That would be the best-case scenario.

Kageyama was the first to take a shower, keeping it speedy but long enough to let the usual nerves die down with the steam. He folded his clothes, laid his glasses on top of the pile, and draped the hotel's black robe over his naked body; it was counterintuitive to put anything on if he was going to just take it off again. He sat at the edge of the bed—one of the most decent beds he had ever seen in a motel—while drying his hair and waiting for Hinata. After a while, Hinata came out of the shower with flushed cheeks and a robe that fit him a bit too oversized. He had lost some of his innocent brilliance, now replaced with a pleasant, but mature aura. He took paced steps towards Kageyama, letting the towel he was using to dry his hair fall to the floor, and slotted his knee in between Kageyama's legs. His movements were surprisingly fluid. They were calculated and sensual, practiced and routine—he obviously had a lot of experience.

He looked into Kageyama's eyes, which was almost comical, since even with Kageyama sitting down Hinata was barely taller than him. "Do you mind if I kiss you?"

Oh yeah, the whole 'don't kiss during a one-night stand rule'. Kageyama didn't really believe in that; if romantic feelings were going to sprout, it was going to happen whether or not the two people kissed. Also, he enjoyed kissing.

Kageyama shook his head and wrapped an arm around Hinata's waist. "Go ahead."

Hinata breached the distance with a cautious, but curious kiss; his lips were soft and teasing, barely putting enough pressure to satisfy Kageyama's growing desire for warmth. Kageyama placed a hand at the base of Hinata's neck to bring him closer, his index finger brushing the soft hair nearby. Hinata shivered and let himself relax into the kiss, eventually sliding his tongue to meet Kageyama's. The kiss slowly ramped up, an edge of urgency and tension with each flick of the tongue and nibble of the lips. Hinata was a damn good kisser. He knew exactly when to use force and when to back off, and his occasionally gasps were absolutely enticing. As they continued kissing, their hands started to wander. Kageyama undid the knot that held Hinata's robe up and snaked his hands to Hinata's ass, kneading and groping the exposed skin gently. Hinata ran his hand down Kageyama's sculpted chest and abs, and rested it on his bare erection. He used his index finger to tease the head, proceeding to slowly stoke the shaft. It was driving Kageyama up the wall.

Kageyama broke the kiss, swiftly pushed Hinata onto the bed, and paused for a moment to admire the rose-cheeked, panting man below him. Just like this, he was more than cute; he was actually quite beautiful. His pale frame was slim and much more muscular than Kageyama expected. Hinata hooked his legs around Kageyama's waist and pulled him closer, a coy smile on his face. Kageyama bent down to nip and suck on Hinata's ears, circling his tongue around the small, golden studs he was wearing. He slid his tongue along Hinata's jawline, neck, and collarbone, slowly, attentively, making sure to draw a few moans with each motion. Kageyama reached over to the counter for the complimentary lube and his condoms, setting them next to him on the bed. He uncapped the bottle and put a bit of lube on his fingers, spreading Hinata's legs a bit wider and pressing a finger into him. He entered with ease, which encouraged him to speed up the pace and increase the fingers to three. Hinata closed his eyes and bit his lips, his hands finding their way to his nipples to gently play with them. Kageyama wanted to observe him, since he thought partners pleasuring themselves was a huge turn-on, but he was positive he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. He slid his fingers out and reached for the condom, opening it and rolling it on. He could feel Hinata's eyes on him the whole time.

After slathering some lube on his dick, Kageyama lifted Hinata's hips higher, a strong grasp on his thigh, and steadily pushed himself inside till the hilt. He gave Hinata a few moments to adjust and then pulled back, slamming all the way in again. Hinata's head snapped back with a loud, strangled moan as he grabbed at the sheets and his legs quivered. Kageyama repeated the motion, mercilessly, and feasted on the muddled mess Hinata became. He relished the way Hinata would squeeze tightly around him, as if begging him to continue, and that only spurred his teasing. But even he had a limit; all this pausing was not going to get him over the edge, though by the looks of it, Hinata was pretty close. Kageyama made this thrusts a bit shallower for the sake of speed, and pounded away to the music of Hinata's sultry cries. Hinata climaxed only a few moments after Kageyama started his barrage of thrust, but surprisingly, the breathy way he said Kageyama's name and the pulsations of his climax drove Kageyama to his peak as well. It was powerful, and probably the fastest Kageyama's ever come. But instead of allotting even a second of his thoughts to the bruised ego that accompanies a quick climax, all he could think about was the next round. After all, this wasn't a long distant event—it was sprints.

They went at it a few more times, in varies positions and in varied speeds, until they were so exhausted sleep quickly overtook them. They didn't cuddle, because that certainly, most definitely, was one rule that should not be broken during a one-night stand. They just dropped on their perspective side of the bed and passed out.

By the time Kageyama opened his eyes it was already late afternoon the next day and Hinata was nowhere to be found. All that he left behind was a note thanking Kageyama for the fun night. He would be lying to himself if he acted like he wasn't a bit disappointed that Hinata hadn't left his number. The sex was breathtaking, probably the best he's ever had. He wouldn't have minded having him as a casual partner, even if his personality was a bit irritating a times. But, oh well. Even if Tsukishima ended up dating Yamaguchi—although it was slim, it was still a possibility, he wouldn't ask about Hinata. He had picked Tsukishima's bad habit of passively letting things play out. He didn't always implement this, unlike Tsukishima who seemed to use it as his life motto; it was just his attitude towards his love life. He had learned that chasing people like an idiot often left him feeling twice as empty when it turned out they didn't give two shits about him.

So he threw the note in the trashcan, took a shower, got dressed, and let it be.

* * *

A/N: Omg, smut in the first chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying my aged-up version of these babies! I've always wanted to do AU in which they are mature and a bit run down by life. This is just the prologue; the sweet, mature developments will be happening in the chapters to come. Please leave me some love and stay tuned.


	2. Chapter 2

Scuffed

Kageyama tapped out of the Tsukinoki station JR gates and glanced at his watch.

It was 6 pm. That gave him enough time to swing by the bookstore, pick up some lunch from Lawson, and get home to watch the recordings of the team's last few games. He figured if he focused hard enough, he would be able to get an idea on how to motivate the team members. And though he was still shitty at verbally motivating anyone, he knew he could get through to them if he used video clips and strategy. Kageyama was determined to find a way to break the current losing streak the Sendai University volleyball team was suffering. Even though he was only the assistant coach.

But at the present moment, he needed to buy the monthly volleyball magazine. This month's issue was featuring detailed interviews with popular pro players, including his personal favorite. He walked across to Sanseido Books, eternally grateful that even in the boondocks, stations on the JR line usually had a few stores within the building. The bookstore was somewhat crowed with the usual costumers who instead of buying anything, stood around to read the book right there. Kageyama made his way through the narrow aisle, passing the fashion and cooking magazines, and stopped at the sports section. He scanned the stand for the usually obvious volleyball magazine but didn't find it. Feeling dejected, though still a bit hopeful, he decided to look for one of the workers in order to ask if they had any back copies. But as he turned to the right, his eyes caught the familiar cover in the hands of a school kid.

Kageyama cleared his throat, "Um, hey. Are you buying that after you are done?"

The kid turned around, "Oh yeah, I will—Kageyama?"

"Hinata?" Even more than the bright hair, that face was unforgettable.

Hinata let out an airy laugh, "You have a really stupid expression on your face right now."

"And you are just as grating as I remember." Kageyama stuffed his hands in his pockets, "So you are going to buy that magazine?"

"I was planning to. Did you also want it?"

"Yeah, but it's fine. I'll just come back when they restock."

"Are you sure about that? You looked really excited when you noticed I was holding it" Hinata snickered.

"Oh, shut up. I'll be fine." Kageyama looked away, a million questions buzzing around in his head.

"How about I buy it and I let you read it over dinner?"

Kageyama raised an eyebrow, "Is that your way of asking me to dinner?"

"No duh. Why are you always asking the obvious?" Hinata grinned, "Just wait here while I buy it."

 _Why was he here?_ Kageyama ran through all the logical reasons his last hook-up would be in this bumfuck-nowhere station. But he quickly got distracted, his curious eyes following the small frame to the register. Hinata looked different during the daytime. His hair was somewhat tamed, his ears were bare, and he was wearing a white button-up and black slacks. It was a bit endearing that he looked like a kid dressed in his father's clothing. Yet, even while suited up like any other working person, he was absolutely radiant. And by the refreshed expression Hinata left the register worker with, it seemed it wasn't only Kageyama who thought this way.

"Okay, where do you want to eat?"

Kageyama followed Hinata out of the bookstore, "Anywhere is fine."

"Then Lotteria it is. I want to eat their fried cheese sticks!"

"That actually doesn't sound bad."

They walked into Lotteria and quietly waited on line. Kageyama looked up at the menu, pondering whether he should go for his usual bacon cheeseburger set or try something else; the store's current smoothie promotion was also tempting. His thinking process was interrupted by a jab to his side at the time it was his turn to order. He shook his head and let Hinata go first, a bit intrigued by what he would choose. Hinata's order consisted purely of side menu items: eight cheese sticks, medium fries, and a melon soda. Kageyama was baffled by how this man made even a fast-food order seem so adorable. When it was his turn, Kageyama went for the bacon cheeseburger set, a strawberry smoothie, and an order of two cheese sticks—he wouldn't let Hinata know that it was the sparkle in those honey eyes that spurred him to buy them.

Hinata sat down with a blissful sigh and passed Kageyama the magazine, "Here."

Kageyama put down the smoothie he was sipping on, "Do you always get this magazine?"

"Not really, just occasionally. This time they did an interview with Chijiki Shunsuke from Osaka Blazers Sakai and he happens to be my favorite, so I came to buy it."

"Your favorite player is a wing spiker…" Kageyama put the magazine beside him and picked up his burger, taking a bite out of it. It had been a while since he came to Lotteria so the food tasted particularly good today.

Hinata picked up a cheese stick, "And you? Who's your favorite?"

"I like Panasonic Panthers' setter, Fukatsu Hideomi. He was also interviewed for this issue."

"I can totally see that!" Hinata chuckled, "You probably relate to his aloof attitude."

Kageyama glared, "I have no idea what you see in Shunsuke; he's the total opposite from you."

Hinata's eyes lost some of their luster and he grew a bit quiet, "He is, isn't he." He nibbled on a few fries, a sad smile gracing his face. "Yeah, he's everything I always wanted to be."

"Oh." Kageyama mentally kicked himself for being such a jerk.

"You see, I may be this short but I can really jump. I played as a wing spiker from high school to college, and was determined to go pro." Hinata sighed, "But reality is harsh; nobody wanted a short guy like me."

Kageyama unconsciously gripped his knee, "Yeah, it's hard to go pro."

Hinata pouted, "You'd be totally fine! You are tall and have a good body."

"Well, it didn't work out that way!" Kageyama spat, somewhat uncomfortable with the conversation.

Hinata lowered his gaze and sat back against the chair. He gave all his attention to the cheese sticks remaining on his tray, as if they were going to run away when he blinked. They ate in silence for a while—the awkward tension festering in the stale air.

"It was a bike accident" Kageyama mumbled, still unsure as to why he was telling someone he barely knew.

"Huh?"

Kageyama pushed his empty tray aside with a sigh, "My senior year in college, while returning home on my bike one night, I got hit by a car. Although my life wasn't in danger, the accident completely messed up my right knee. I was optimistic at first and tried my best in rehab, hoping that I could rejoin the team by the later half of the year. But it was useless." He balled his hand into a fist; his voice a bit strained "My knee couldn't handle more than twenty minutes of serious playing. I was the genius setter. I was supposed to be scouted after leading my team to victory, but instead, this happened."

Hinata placed a small hand on top of Kageyama's, his eyes swelling with empathy, "I'm sorry." He forced a light laugh, "We're always so starry-eyed as kids. Being an adult sucks."

"Hmm."

Hinata retracted his hand and tilted his head to the side, " You can go ahead and read the magazine, you know. I don't mind just sitting here."

Kageyama had completely forgotten about the magazine lying beside him. He picked it up and set it on the table, leafing through it until he could find Hideomi's interview. He wasn't in the mood to read anything. But he didn't want to seem even more pathetic in front of Hinata, so he shoved those feelings deeper in the dark corner they were settled in, and focused on acting like he was reading. The words weren't really registering. To make matters worse, when he occasionally looked up, he would catch Hinata's eyes on him. They were narrowed, almost piercing, and his chin rested on his hand in thought.

Kageyama closed the magazine and passed it back, "Thanks."

"You're very welcome." Hinata shifted to the side to place the magazine in his messenger bag. "Was it interesting?"

"Yeah…"

"That's good." Hinata beamed.

"Do you want to head out?"

"Yup."

They gathered their bags and walked over to the trashcans to set their trays. Kageyama checked his watch as they exited Lotteria, resigning to the fact that he had neither time nor energy to watch the videos today. He ran his hand through his hair and looked down at Hinata, now remembering that he still hadn't asked the most important question.

"Why are you in this station?"

Hinata chuckled and continued walking towards the bicycle parking, " I live near here, dummy. Why else would I use this station?"

"That's true. How long is your bike ride?"

"Only five minutes towards the big park near by."

"Oh, we're opposite directions. I'm around eight minutes away from the park. But that's still pretty close."

Hinata smirked, "What? Are you thinking it was fate we met?"

"No. I was thinking that it would be horrible to bike home alongside an idiot like you."

"You already do; yourself" Hinata said and stuck out his tongue.

Kageyama dug into his pant pockets for his bike keys, "A second grader could probably make a better comeback."

"I doubt that." Hinata stopped in front of the entrance to the bike parking and pulled out his cellphone, "But, yeah. I do think it's a little neat that we ran into each other again. So, lets be friends." He turned his phone towards Kageyama, showing him the Line QR code on the screen.

Kageyama's lips rounded into a small grin and he wordlessly took out his phone to scan Hinata's code. He had to commend Hinata for his spontaneity; it was extremely attractive and Kageyama felt like he'd never get bored with him. But on the other hand, he didn't like that Hinata was the one making all the moves. So he decided to step up his game, by at least a little bit.

Kageyama softly brushed Hinata's cheek with his thumb, "With or without benefits?"

Hinata's eyes lit up in understanding and he took Kageyama's hand in his own, "Hmm, so about that." He pulled Kageyama closer to him and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips—of course while standing on his tippy toes. After a few seconds, he pulled away with a smug look on his face, "Does that answer your question?"

Kageyama sighed exaggeratedly, "Don't you ever get flustered, dumbass."

Hinata walked backwards, "Occasionally. But around you, probably never." He gave Kageyama a cheesy grin before turning around in search for his bike.

Kageyama did the same, finding it with ease since it was so late into the night and there were few bikes left. He unlocked it and kicked back the stand; rolling it to the opposite exit Hinata was rolling his. They shouted their 'good nights' and went their separate ways right as the cool night breeze started to pick up. The cicadas were loud that night, like any other spring night. But they were a nice distraction to the jittering thoughts in Kageyama's head. He gripped the handlebars a bit tighter as the thoughts continued to pester him, announcing themselves with loud bangs to his conscience. Forcibly, he realized that contrary to what he said earlier, he wouldn't have minded having company during his ride home—especially if it was Hinata.


	3. Chapter 3

Making Ends Meet

Why did he ever think Tsukishima would be a good workout buddy?

"Do you have a shift later?" Tsukishima huffed.

Kageyama continued to adjust the speed until he could get into a more natural pace. He was out of breath from the immature competition he just had with Tsukishima on the elliptical. It ended with both of them clumsily slapping the stop button before the machine threw them off.

Kageyama hung his headphones around his neck and settled into a comfortable run, "No, I did my shift this morning."

Tsukishima pushed up his glasses, "How spoiled. Your little side-job lets you use the gym for free."

"Says the fat-ass who can eat handmade pastries and high-class leftovers from his jobs."

"That's disgusting; who would want to eat leftovers? Also, I only eat the pastries I fail at making; which are very few at this point."

"So you're saying you're finally good? Maybe I should swing by the bakery; last time I went your tiramisu tasted like shit." Kageyama pressed the cool down button and adjusted his knee supporter as he walked, "I should also check out that restaurant you work in, just to see you force yourself to be polite to me."

"I doubt you can afford to eat at that restaurant with your kind of paycheck" Tsukishima scoffed and also slowed down to a walk, "By the way, you came to the bakery like two years ago. Of course I've gotten better, you dumbass."

"The restaurant is that high-class, huh" Kageyama pressed the off button and stepped down from the elliptical. "I guess I'll visit just the bakery, then."

Tsukishima followed suit, "Hm."

They wiped their machines with the cleaning solution and paper towels the gym offered, and walked over to the mats to stretch. They did the usual: butterflies, shoulder rolls, bends, lunges, and a few twists. Kageyama kept holding his stretches for longer than necessary because he was too busy poking fun at Tsukishima's lack of flexibility. The blond's crude comebacks didn't help his concentration either.

"How are you and freckles doing?" Kageyama asked nonchalantly. It'd be a stretch to say that he particularly cared about Tsukishima's love life, but it wasn't like he wasn't curious. At the end of the day, he did think of Tsukishima as a friend, a shitty one, but a friend none-the-less. So he often found himself asking these unnecessarily friendly questions. And it pleased him when Tsukishima actually put the effort to answer them.

Tsukishima shrugged midway through a failed attempt at reaching his toes, "We're fine."

"Seeing you this interested in someone is rare."

Tsukishima sat up with a smirk, "Well, he's cute in bed."

"That's it? Poor Yamaguchi; what does he even see in you?" Kageyama sighed.

"You certainly aren't much better. Yamaguchi told me, you know. About how you hooked up with Hinata and also how you guys ran into each other a few weeks ago. I bet you are already crushing on him just from that."

Kageyama stood up and started walking to the assisted machines, "I am not."

"Bullshit." Tsukishima followed him with a malicious smile on his face, "If you need love advice, you can always come to me."

"You're the last person I'd go to." Kageyama spat and focused on doing his shoulder presses.

Tsukishima was wrong; there is no way he already had romantic feelings for Hinata…right? It was true that Kageyama found the random pictures Hinata sent him adorable, and that physically, Hinata was his type, but it was more accurate to say that he was just sexually attracted to him. And though Hinata did pop up in his head occasionally, couldn't he just blame that on his libido? Yeah, he barely knew anything about Hinata aside from what they talked about in Lotteria and the random tidbits he got from their text messages. It definitely had to take more than this to make Kageyama fall for someone.

* * *

Kageyama draped the towel over his head and plopped onto his futon. He was tired of thinking. His thoughts were churning, mind going in endless circles, since Tsukishima's comment during their workout. Even after saying goodbye to the asshole and going home to take a warm shower, he was still thinking about it. He knew this was a flaw of his, especially since his over-analyzing would occasionally cause him to freeze up.

He rolled onto his stomach, worried that his hair might dampen the bed, and buried his face in his pillow with a sigh. He needed to distract himself. Dinner. What should he have for dinner today? He decided to actually put some effort into his meal; he's been eating too many convenient store bentos recently. But if he remembered correctly, he barely had any ingredients to cook a decent meal, which meant he would have to bike back to the station to buy groceries—too much of a hassle. He'd just have a cup ramen and concern himself with his health some other day. But before dinner, maybe be should take a short nap. He was getting a bit sleepy.

Just as Kageyama's eyes were drooping to a close, his phone buzzed on top of his bedside counter. He grunted and reached for it, a mildly amused expression playing out on his face once he saw the sender.

 **From: Hinata**

Hey, you busy today?

 **To: Hinata**

Not really, why?

 **From: Hinata**

I want to eat hotpot but it's boring to eat it alone. And Yamaguchi is going over to Tsukishima's. Do you want to come over?

 **To: Hinata**

Where? Your house?

 **From: Hinata**

Where else, smartie?

 **To: Hinata**

Sure.

 **From: Hinata**

Kool, let's meet in front of the station at 6.

 **To: Hinata**

Is this also an invitation to sleep over?

 **From: Hinata**

Probably.

 **To: Hinata**

Ok.

 **From: Hinata**

See you in a bit.

 **To: Hinata**

Later.

Kageyama tried to make himself stop grinning like an idiot but failed, and resigned to the fact that he was a tiny bit excited about this preposition. Not only did this solve his food problem, it also had the potential to satiate his growing need for action (the last time he had sex was almost a month ago, with Hinata). Granted, Hinata's impeccable timing forced Kageyama's mind to return to the muddled mess it was previously in. But he was strangely okay with that at this point. Instead of overthinking it, jumping through loops and gaps to defend his stubborn self-image, he just needed to be honest with himself. He may be developing an odd attachment to Hinata and that was perfectly normal. It didn't mean these feelings were romantic. It sure as hell didn't mean that he wanted to date the midget. What it did mean was that Kageyama wasn't used to playing in this grey area, this borderless friends-with-benefits agreement, and his mind was still adapting. The feelings would soon calm down and turn monotonous, surely.

With his mind now cleared, Kageyama stood up and began to get dressed. It was almost time to meet up with Hinata.

* * *

When Kageyama spotted Hinata, who was keeping his bike stable with one hand while idly using his phone with the other, the first thing he noticed was Hinata's interesting outfit. He was wearing a white V-neck with a donut graphic on the front, a Hawaiian themed cap placed on backwards, and bright yellow sandals. The only article of clothing he was wearing that didn't scream of that boyish, almost childish nature was the blue jeans. Yet, when Hinata turned to him with his signature smile, all of Kageyama's rude comments were swept away with the warm wind. Was there anything that didn't suit this guy?

"Hey." Hinata said, stuffing his phone in his pocket.

Kageyama walked his bike closer, "Hey."

"So, I know how excited you were for our dinner date and sexy times afterwards, but there's been a sight change of plans."

"I wasn't excited."

Hinata grinned and mounted his bike, "Liar. But yeah, there will be one more person with us."

Kageyama did the same, "Who?"

"You'll see when we get there."

They ride those five minutes towards the park, into the small tunnel under the bridge, and a turn at first left in content silence. The day was warm and breezy, the sun only gently caressing their skin, and the flowers were blooming in seas of colors along the sidewalk. They stopped at a turquoise building and walked their bikes into the allotted parking space. Kageyama followed Hinata inside, noticing the quaint design on the lobby's mahogany walls and the gentle smiles from the elderly people playing cards on the lobby table. Everything was cozy and perfectly fitting of Hinata's disposition.

They walked up the stairs to the second floor and Hinata unlocked the third door, looking back to flash Kageyama a silly smile before yelling 'I'm home'. They stepped inside, Kageyama closing the door behind him, and set their shoes neatly by the entryway. The sound of hurried footsteps got closer and out of what seemed to be the living room came a young girl who looked astonishingly similar to Hinata. She had orange, somewhat wild, shoulder length hair and soft brown eyes that were currently peering holes into Kageyama. She was like a girl version of Hinata, so admittedly, very cute.

"Nii-san, is this your boyfriend? He's hot."

Hinata snorted, "No, not really. Kageyama's a friend, Natsu."

Kageyama stared at both of them, "…are you guys twins?"

"Nii-san, he's calling you a high schooler," Natsu said in-between giggles.

"That's an upgrade; he's been saying I look like I should be in middle school."

Kageyama rubbed his neck, "I guess not."

"We get that a lot." Natsu smiled gently—the dashing gesture that was not an exact copy, but very similar to her brother's. Kageyama wondered which parent they got this tension-dissolving superpower from.

"Okay, I'm starving." Hinata took Kageyama by the wrist and pulled him towards his living room, "You need to stop being so stiff."

"I'm not being stiff." Kageyama flicked Hinata on the back of the head, "Do you need any help?"

Hinata rubbed the stinging spot, "No, Natsu is helping out. We are almost done, anyhow. Just sit your butt down."

"Fine."

In the center of the living room was a low wooden table placed above a few tatami mats and situated directly in front of the television. Kageyama sat down by the table and faced the adjoined kitchen, his eyes jumping from the busy Hinata to the rest of the room. The space was moderate for a single bedroom apartment. All the walls were painted a pale yellow and an odd array of posters served as the occasional decoration. On the second shelf of the T.V stand were two portraits; one of Hinata's family, and the other was most likely of Hinata's college volleyball team—it was a bit too far to confirm and snooping was unsightly. Other than that, there was barely anything else in the room. The space felt lived in, but it was simple, at least simpler than what Kageyama would have imaged.

"Earth to Kageyama." Hinata yelled, "You should stop spacing out and help me set the table instead."

"I wasn't exactly zoning out…" Kageyama replied under his breath.

Hinata chuckled, "Why do you stubbornly deny absolutely everything lame you do? I mean, it's kind of cute, so whatever. "

Natsu placed the hotpot in the center of the table, "Ew Nii-san, save your flirting for when I am not here."

"One, you previously said to sit my butt down, so I did. Two, I think it's a habit." Kageyama stood up and grabbed the dishes from Hinata, "Three, Natsu, you should never follow your Nii-san's example, he's a horrible flirt." Kageyama didn't want to be the only one being teased in this situation.

"That's not what you were saying a few weeks ago" Hinata proclaimed while sticking his tongue out.

"I knew it!" Natsu cheered, "You guys are going out."

Kageyama finished setting everything and sat down on the short side of the table, "Hinata, you're an idiot."

"As I said before, Natsu" Hinata sat opposite of Kageyama, his face a bit more serious now, "We aren't."

Natsu glanced from Hinata to Kageyama in an attempt to read their expressions and sat at the long side of the table, opposite of the T.V, with a grin, "I see. Sure, then."

They each said 'itadakimasu' and dove into the pot for their favorites. The battle ended with all of them having a bit of everything: udon, Chinese cabbage, tofu, hard-boiled egg, and pork, but with the guys leaning towards the meat and Natsu preferring more noodles.

"So, Kageyama-san? What's your job?"

"Just Kageyama is fine." Kageyama took a sip of water before he continued, "I'm an assistant volleyball coach at Sendai University—

Kageyama's eyes caught Hinata flinching. It wasn't very difficult to do since the flinch was so physical that some broth from the bowl Hinata had to his mouth spilled over, and trickled down his hand. This reaction perplexed Kageyama enough that he completely forgot to continue his sentence, and just stared at Hinata, who was still covering his face with his bowl.

"Oh!" Natsu's face lit up, "Nii-san went to that college! That's also where I want to apply."

Hinata placed the bowl on the table, "That's crazy, the world is so small." He chuckled quietly and used a napkin to clean his hand, "Just tiny."

Kageyama continued to watch Hinata, " Yeah, it is...

"So!" Hinata finally looked up, a close-eyed smile plastered on his face, "Guess what my job is, Kageyama?"

A very obvious change of topic, but Kageyama played a long since he wasn't one to be nosy, though he was very fucking curious to know what made Hinata so nervous.

"I have no idea. Just tell me."

"He's a volleyball sports reporter!" Natsu chimed.

"No fair Natsu, I wanted to say it."

"No way," Kageyama mumbled, eyes wide. "But I don't remember ever seeing you on T.V."

Hinata shrugged, "It's because I only appear on the local Sendai City channels. I have a segment in a morning program and I talk about local college volleyball, as well as professional teams in Japan."

"That makes sense. I don't watch too much T.V and if I do, it's the Tokyo channels." Kageyama set his chopsticks down and wiped his lips, "But I can see why they would hire someone like you."

Hinata glared, "What does that mean?"

"Nothing. I'll make sure to watch one of your segments and make fun of you for it later on."

"Nii-san, I'm sure that Kageyama thinks your outgoing personality is perfect for the job. He's just being tsundere." Natsu smirked; her soft features just a façade for her mischievous attitude.

"Oh, is that how it is, Kageyama?" Hinata mocked.

Kageyama didn't bother to respond. He loudly said his thanks for the food, picked up his dishes, and took them to the kitchen sink. These siblings were becoming a bit too much to deal with; something similar to that hazy, throbbing state your eyes fall into when you stare at a bright light for an unhealthy amount of time.

* * *

"I should probably head out" Kageyama said, mostly to himself since Hinata was still in the kitchen drying the dishes.

Natsu shook her head and abruptly got up, "No, stay Kageyama. I'm leaving now so I can stop being a nuisance."

Hinata turned around, "Who said you were being—"

"Oh, no one." Natsu winked at Hinata, "But you guys can't fool me." She picked up per bag and hurried over to the door, a final 'See you both soon' yelled in their direction before the door slammed behind her. That girl was a whirlwind.

Kageyama sighed and lay flat on the tatami, "She's the smarter one, isn't she. She's sharp."

"Rude." Hinata puffed, walking over to Kageyama, "You'll become a cow if you lay after eating."

"That's a myth." Kageyama smirked and pulled up his shirt to show his toned abs, "And it'd take quite a bit to make these goes away."

Hinata laughed and softly kicked Kageyama on his side, "So lame."

"That hurt, dumbass."

"You know it didn't." Hinata stepped a foot over to the opposite side of Kageyama and straddled him, a defiant look in his eyes, "Hmm, as I thought, looking down at you is pretty nice."

Kageyama rested his hands on Hinata's hips, sneaking his thumbs under Hinata's shirt, "Enjoy it while you can."

Hinata slipped his hands under Kageyama's shirt, sliding them up his torso as he lowered his face closer to Kageyama's. He was quiet, his lips pursed as if midway through forming a question, and glints of inquisition in his eyes. Kageyama continued to look into those pools of honeyed brown; he was probably even blinking less. He allowed his hands to slowly wander up Hinata's back and feather a pattern onto the surface of his smooth skin. They stayed like this for a while. Kageyama's eyes burned the image of the man above them, and the way the glow of the light on the ceiling enshrouding Hinata was almost angelic. He wondered what was going through Hinata's head; he wondered if Hinata found anything endearing about the serious face he was probably wearing at the moment. He wondered if Hinata's warm palms, now placed perfectly on top of his heart, could understand the story his heartbeats were telling them. Kageyama was at peace. He couldn't remember the last time he was this comfortable with someone, and that scared him. Especially since they were just supposed to just be fuck buddies. These gentle, loving motions weren't appropriate for the type of relationship they had agreed on, but Kageyama couldn't pull away. He loved how well Hinata's frame fit with his own.

"You're beautiful…" He unconsciously whispered, only realizing his mistake when bright red splashed across Hinata's cheeks, all the away to his ears. Hinata awkwardly sat up and looked down at Kageyama in partial shock.

"Sorry." Kageyama cleared his throat, "I shouldn't have said that."

Hinata shook his head, a smile gracing his face, "No, that was nice. It just…came out of no where."

"Not really…" Kageyama looked to the side, searing his embarrassment into the leg of the table, "I've been thinking that since the first night."

"Oh." Hinata bit his bottom lip, unsure of how to react, "Uh, do you want to continue this in my room?"

Kageyama knew that if he really cared about keeping this relationship strictly unromantic, he needed to make that clear now. It was probably best he left and came back another day, skipping all these tender caresses and stupid compliments.

But the thing was, he no longer gave a damn.

"Yeah."


	4. Chapter 4

Turnstile

Kageyama's eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the stream of sunshine hitting his face, and while blinking away the morning fog he realized he had slept over at Hinata's house. It was a gentle realization—his eyes traveling down to the mess of orange hair buried in his chest. He couldn't see Hinata's face from this angle, but he could feel Hinata's quiet breaths warm up the bare skin near his mouth. They were almost naked, only having had the decency to put on underwear before tangling themselves in each other, and Hinata was blissfully tucked in Kageyama's embrace. One thin leg sandwiched between Kageyama's, the other hiked by Kageyama's hip, and his folded arms flush with Kageyama's lower stomach; it was comfortable. Kageyama had tried to cuddle with people in the past, but it always ended in lack of sleep from shuffling and readjusting. Hinata fit his body like a glove, and Kageyama was beginning to understand the addictive quality of body chemistry.

Kageyama moved his arm so he could slide his hand in Hinata's hair, a tiny content sigh escaping his lips. He closed his eyes and let his body sink further into the mattress as his mind sifted through last night's memories. _Warm_. Last night was the light shade of pink dusted on Hinata's cheeks, the peach shadow of Hinata's hair in his peripheral vision, the white framing those golden pupils, and these images were burned into Kageyama's mind like sensory receipts he could collect after every encounter with Hinata. There was something precious about the Hinata he slept with yesterday; he was more expressive, giddy, and talkative than the one he had his one-night stand with. Kageyama figured that Hinata didn't feel the need to disassociate last night, that he had won the right to see the real Hinata. And it was mutual; the Kageyama of yesterday was happily the same Kageyama of today. _This is okay_. He was allowed to have these kinds of feelings—jittery, light, and vibrant—after all this time it didn't hurt to let himself fall, even if these moments were fleeting.

Hinata rustled in his sleep, mumbled something incoherent, and nuzzled closer to Kageyama. Kageyama grinned to himself, fingers playing with a tuff of Hinata's unruly hair; _yeah, this is okay_.

Kageyama hadn't realized he had drifted off to sleep until he woke up to bright honey eyes staring down at him. It was a bit startling; Hinata's face was so close to his he could almost see himself reflected in those eyes. But his face quickly relaxed once realization kicked in—Hinata was also beautiful in the morning. They stared at each other for a few more minutes, exchanging knowing glances (what do we do now; we're getting in too deep) and soft breaths. Hinata dipped down and gave Kageyama a chaste kiss, his lips forming into a tiny smile as he pulled away.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

Hinata sat up and leaned against the backboard, "I had this theory that you also furrow your eyebrows while you sleep, but you don't. You looked at peace."

"No, shit. Well, at least I was right about your bed hair. It's ridiculous."

Hinata stuck out his tongue; "Maybe if you didn't dig your hands in it, it wouldn't be so messy."

"I didn't—"

"You did." Hinata crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "When I woke up your hand was in my hair and you had a super content look on your face. Just admit you like playing with my hair."

Kageyama's cheeks turned the slightest shade of red, "Fine. I do. Happy?"

"Very happy. You see, it wasn't that hard, right?"

Hinata slid out of bed, stretching his arms above his head while humming. He walked over to his full-length mirror and started to check his skin for any visible kiss marks Kageyama had left on him. There were quite a few. Hinata turned around and glared at Kageyama.

Kageyama sat up, shrugging, "I couldn't help it"

"I'm getting you back next time."

"Okay," Kageyama muttered, trying to hide the grin on his face. _There'll be a next time_.

Hinata rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a T-shirt, "Get out of bed. I'll make us breakfast. Is there anything you don't like?'

Kageyama got off the bed, "I'll eat anything."

"Good." Hinata put on the shirt and walked out of the room, Kageyama following soon after.

Just like yesterday, they sat across from each other and scarfed down their food. Hinata had made toast and rolled omelette, cutting up apples to set on the side. They both drank coffee, but Hinata took his black and sugarless, while Kageyama had to put milk and at least two tablespoons of sugar in his. Even now, midway through their meal, Hinata was still stifling a laugh.

"I'm going to kick you."

"You already did. My shin still hurts."

Kageyama pointed his fork at Hinata, "I'll do it again."

"Oh, whatever." Hinata stabbed at his eggs, "Um, so you said you coach at Sendai University, right?'

"Yeah."

"…is a guy named Katsumoto Shuu still coaching there?"

"Katsumoto-san? He's the head coach now, why?"

Hinata shook his head and laughed, "No, no reason. He used to be an assistant coach while I was there. I was just curious."

"Huh." Kageyama sipped the last bit of his coffee, eyeing Hinata from above the rim of the mug. That wasn't a 'just curious' look; he was outright averting his gaze just like yesterday. But before Kageyama could even contemplate pushing the conversation further, he heard his ringtone coming from somewhere in the room. "That's my phone…" He looked under the table and found it a few inches away from him. It probably rolled there during their staring session yesterday.

He checked the caller ID; it was his mother. He looked over at Hinata who nodded in approval and picked up the call, "Hello?"

"Tobio, I think I'm forgetting what you look like."

Kageyama chuckled, "You're so dramatic. It hasn't been that long since I've visited."

"Yes it has. Your dad is gone on another business trip so I'm lonely. All I do is take naps; I've been so tired lately."

"Have you gone to the doctor? You've also been eating very little."

He could literally hear his mom pouting through the phone, "No, I haven't. I eat enough."

"Sure." Kageyama sighed, "I'll go visit soon. I promise."

"You said that last time."

"This time I mean it, okay?"

"Fine. See you soon, honey."

"Bye." Kageyama locked his phone and set it on the table.

Hinata stood up and collected the empty plates, "Who was that? Your mom?"

"Yeah, she was complaining about how I never go visit."

Hinata leaned on the sink and faced Kageyama, "What a cold child. But even though I want to say that…you laughed while talking to your mom. It caught me by surprise."

"I'm not a statue, you know. I laugh here and there." Kageyama twirled the phone on the table, "She's a bit pushy at times, but we're really close. So I guess I'm at my most natural when talking to her."

"That's cute." Hinata turned back around and started washing the dishes, "It's nice seeing this side of you."

"I could say the same thing to you." Kageyama stood up, "I have a few things to do today so I'm going to get my clothes and head out."

"Sure."

Kageyama walked to Hinata's room and picked up his scattered clothes from the floor. He swiftly put everything on, making sure his wallet and keys were still in his pant pockets, and returned to the living room. Hinata was waiting for him by the entrance. He had a somber, somewhat coy expression, and was playing with the hem of his t-shirt. Kageyama shuffled into his shoes and faced Hinata; because the entrance was about a step lower than the interior of the apartment, the midget was now at eye-level. They both leaned in for a quiet, quick, and soft good-bye kiss. Kageyama ruffled Hinata's hair with a low 'see you', and opened the door, walking away from the apartment without looking back. If he had to imagine what Hinata's expression was in that moment, he would have definitely guessed his iconic smile.

* * *

Kageyama stood by the ticket machine of the northern exit of the Yaotome station. He unlocked his phone and checked his messages: none. It was only twenty minutes past the time he had agreed to meet Hinata and he was already planning where to smack the idiot when he did show up.

"Sorry I'm late!" a breathy voice yelled out, and Kageyama turned his head to see a grinning Hinata and worried Yamaguchi jogging towards him. "Yamaguchi got lost when he went to meet me."

"I'm sorry, Kageyama" Yamaguchi stuttered while bowing his head.

Kageyama waved his hands in front of him, "No, it's okay. I didn't now you were coming today, though."

Hinata swiped his hair away from his forehead, "Yeah, the second I told him we were going to visit the bakery Tsukishima works at, he begged me to let him tag along."

"I didn't beg! I was just very quick to ask..." Yamaguchi smiled, "Tsukishima wouldn't tell me where he worked so I figured this was a good opportunity."

"Okay then, let's go." Kageyama slid his phone into his back pocket, "It's only a few streets away."

The walk was pleasant; the weather was in that in-between spring and summer stage, where the sun was blazing down but a cool breeze kept things bearable. Yamaguchi trailed a bit behind Hinata and Kageyama, who were busy arguing over the latest pro-volleyball game. Kageyama stopped in front of a quaint, pale green store with the name 'PanPan Bakery' engraved on a wooden slab above the entrance. The store was a decent size, with a seating area and a four-car parking space out front. Kageyama opened the door and they all stepped inside, a loud bell announcing their presence.

"Hello?"

An elderly woman popped up from behind the display counter to the right. She had a low bun of salt-and-pepper hair, and thin red glasses framed her smile-creased face.

"Why, it's been forever since I've seen you Kageyama."

"Sorry, I've been busy. How's everything, Yoshino-san?"

She walked towards the end of the counter, lifting the wooden tab blocking the entrance to the kitchen, "Everything is going well. Even your mom drives by here occasionally to get crème puffs."

"She says the ones you make are her favorites…"

Yoshino laughed, "Well, Kei is the one who has been making them recently. If your mom can't tell the difference then I have taught him right." She motioned them to come closer, "You're visiting Kei, right? Just come inside."

The guys stepped through the small entrance and walked down a short hallway to the left, passing the staff bathroom, and stopping in front of double wooden doors. Hinata, who was in front of the group (probably because if he was in the back his vision would be completely blocked), quietly pushed open the door. The change in temperature was instantaneous. The sticky air, the sound of the kitchen fan twirling, the itchy sensation of flour enshrouding them—this was the kind of environment Tsukishima made his home. When Kageyama first found out about Tsukishima's passion, he laughed, thinking that it didn't suit the guy at all, but his impression quickly changed. Tsukishima looked like a different person when he was making pastries. That nonchalant, irritating, shit-eating expression turned serious, his piercing eyes developing tunnel vision; he hadn't even realized that the group was in the kitchen.

"Hey Tsukishima!" Hinata screamed.

"Fuck!" Tsukishima let out, the ropes of dough he was twisting near the edge of the table flying towards the floor. He turned around, his arms out and fingers widely spread in a vexed gesture, baring his teeth, "What the hell was—

Tsukishima's eyes landed on Yamaguchi and his expression gradually softened, looking something similar to his usual bored expression but at the same time, very different from that. He let his hands drop, bending down to pick up the wasted dough, and straighten up with a sigh, "What are you guys doing here?"

"I wanted to see how much you've improved" Kageyama replied, "And these two tagged a long."

Hinata pointed his nose towards the ceiling and sniffed, "It smells really good in here!"

"You looked really cool…"Yamaguchi offered as he played with his fingers nervously.

Tsukishima glanced at Yamaguchi and patted his flour-covered hands on his kitchen apron, "That great, except you're being a nuisance. Go sit down and order something like proper costumers."

Hinata grinned, "Oh, he's being shy!"

Kageyama snickered, pushing Hinata and Yamaguchi out of the kitchen, "Come before he spits in our cake."

They returned the to the front of the bakery and made their way over to the small veranda, sitting down at a four-person table. Yoshino came over to take their orders, quickly jotting them down on her notepad, and disappeared to the kitchen. After a few minutes she came back with their drinks.

"Here you go." She set the iced-tea in front of Yamaguchi, and the lemonades in front of Kageyama and Hinata. "Kei will come by in a few minutes with your cakes."

"Thanks," Hinata chimed.

Yoshino returned to the counter and Hinata turned to Yamaguchi, "Did Tsukishima tell you anything about this place?"

Yamaguchi shook his head, "Only that he wants to become a professional patissier and that he has an apprenticeship at a bakery."

"He's basically a professional by now…" Kageyama sipped his drink. "Yoshino-san is planning to leave him the bakery when she retires in a few years."

"Really?" Hinata exclaimed, "Is Yoshino-san a family member or something?"

"No, but she's something like a grandmother to him. She has no children and she owns the property, so want's to give it to Tsukishima. He's a stubborn idiot so for a while he refused, but around a year ago he finally gave in."

"Who's the stubborn idiot?" Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, setting Kageyama's tiramisu down with a loud clank. "Are you looking in a mirror?"

Kageyama's lips formed into a sly side-grin, "Have you looked into one? What's up with that new haircut?"

Tsukishima placed a green tea roll cake in front of Hinata, "…"

Hinata's face brightened and he looked over at Yamaguchi, who was staring holes into the table, "You cut it for him, didn't you! Tsukishima is so lucky; he gets personal haircuts a home."

"It looks pretty good" Kageyama admitted and dug into his cake, "Good job Yamaguchi."

"Here," Tsukishima mumbled as he slid a raspberry cheesecake in front of Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi shook his head rapidly, the blush on his cheeks becoming more obvious by the second, "B-but I didn't order it…"

"No shit, dumbass." Tsukishima tucked the empty tray underneath his arm, "I know you're pretty tight on money right now. Just eat it."

Yamaguchi tucked a few strands of hair behind his ear, a wide smile gracing his star-freckled face, "Thank you, Tsukki."

Hinata almost choked on his cake, "Tsukki?!"

Kageyama muffled a chuckle, elbowing Hinata on the side so he could also calm down. Tsukishima was throwing death glares at them and if they didn't shut up, that metal tray would soon have a dent the shape of their heads. Yamaguchi happily ate his cake, eyes flickering from his plate to Tsukishima's face, without realizing that with one little nickname he had revealed a lot more about their relationship than Tsukishima would have liked. Kageyama licked his fork clean with a sigh and thought that moments like these were refreshing.

Kageyama and Hinata headed out first; Yamaguchi was going to stay behind to wait for Tsukishima to finish work. It was late afternoon by the time they left the bakery, and the cool breeze now overpowered the faint sun. They walked very close to each other, often bumping shoulders a childish manner, and talked about how surprising Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's relationship was. When they tapped into the subway Hinata suddenly stopped by the gates, as if remembering something.

"Oh, I need to do a favor for my sister, so I'm actually going the opposite way."

Kageyama pocketed his pass, "That's fine."

"I'll text you." Hinata walked backwards towards the stairs to his platform, "By the way, I'm planning to visit you at school soon."

"Why? You see me all the time."

Hinata grinned, "Well, it's my old school. I have other people to see as well. See ya!" and ran off.

Kageyama walked down the stairs, eyebrows furrowed in thought. _Who else does he want to see?_ Hinata had been acting weird the moment he mentioned that he worked at Sendai University, so obviously some memory Hinata had of the school made him nervous. Some memory…or someone. Kageyama pressed his lips when things finally clicked, heart filling with a putrid, heavy emotion: _Coach Katsumoto_.


	5. Chapter 5

Laughing Gas

Did Coach Katsumoto do something to Hinata while he was a student?

No, no way.

Kageyama tapped his finger on the clipboard and his eyes flickered from the spike practice to the man a few steps away from him. He was a little bit shorter than Kageyama, with broad shoulders, short brown hair, and an air that commanded respect. Sure, he was pretty attractive, at least objectively. He had a great jaw line, eyes with splashes of green, and an easygoing smile constantly plastered on his face. It would be a lie to say that Kageyama had never checked him out, but he didn't necessarily like him as a person. Kageyama especially disliked Katsumoto's painfully electric blue jumpsuit that matched his equally crude attitude. Or the fact that he never seemed to take anything seriously.

But he was a decent coach. At least in that, Kageyama couldn't fault him.

Maybe Hinata had an unrequited crush on Katsumoto and mentioning him reminded Hinata of how much he liked him in the past?

"You've been awfully distracted today, Kageyama." A gruff voice approached him, "If you keep staring at me you'll make my wife jealous."

And then there was his insistent need to mention his wife at least once every practice. Yet, he was incredibly flirtatious in that odd, 'I know you think I'm handsome so I'll wink at you here and there as a joke', kind of way. He was like that to everyone, even the students, and it always bothered Kageyama. If he was bisexual that would explain a lot of things, but his huge ego made reading his motives difficult.

Kageyama sighed, "I was just staring through you…sorry, Katsumoto-san."

Katsumoto slapped Kageyama on the back, "How many times have I told you to drop the honorifics? I'm only five years older than you."

Then there was his inability to respect personal space, or control that brutish strength of his. Yeah, now that he thought about it, there were a lot of things Kageyama didn't like about Katsumoto. And his connection to Hinata only heightened those feelings.

"So," Katsumoto started, leaning in for the sake of secrecy, "What's got you so worried? Your woman? Or are you having problems deciding the starting lineup?"

"I don't have a 'woman' and yeah…" Kageyama looked down at the clipboard, "I've decided most of the line up, but I'm stuck on whom to pick as our left wing spiker."

It was a half-truth. Though it was true that he was a bit uncertain about the starting lineup, right now figuring out Hinata's connection to Katsumoto was taking precedence—whether he liked it or not. He'd prefer to just ask Katsumoto but that'd be rude and inconsiderate of Hinata's feelings. The idiot would probably tell him eventually, he just hadn't gotten around to it because he'd never think it'd bother Kageyama this much. Granted, even Kageyama couldn't grasp why the hell it was bugging him so much. He just wanted to return to his somewhat focused, volleyball-driven thoughts again.

"How about Fujiwara?"

Kageyama glanced at the guy with brown, shaggy ear-length hair and a sly grin, "Yeah, he's who I was considering but although he is strong, his emotions fluctuate too easily and he isn't as reliable as I'd like him to be."

"Reliability?" Katsumoto scoffed, "Kageyama, this is college volleyball; none of these kids are reliable. What we need is power and drive, and I think Fujiwara's a great choice for left-wing spiker. Leave all that reliability crap to Sasaki since he is the ace and our libero."

"Okay." Kageyama conceded, eyebrows most definitely furrowing.

He wasn't sure what Katsumoto's volleyball experience had been like, but his own was far from ideal. Retrospectively, his team was very strong individually but it lacked a deep sense of trust and the warm harmony sports teams should have. He felt proud at the time, but it wasn't healthy how much his team relied on him to pick up their slack and that expectation was a very heavy burden on his shoulders. Consequently, when the accident happened, even more than the injury itself, it was probably the realization that he had let everyone down that dealt the finishing blow. He didn't want Sasaki to self-destruct from the pressure, but Katsumoto was too dense to understand those feelings. He seemed to lack the ability to empathize, or at least was too self-absorbed to try to understand a person beyond the superficial point of politeness.

Yet, it was this very distancing factor that allowed him to be a decent coach. He would never let his feelings get involved and would mercilessly pick the members he thought gave them the best fighting chance, while still encouraging those who weren't chosen to keep hustling. It was infuriating—how could this shitty person be such a respectable coach? Kageyama was getting a headache just thinking about it.

"You're unsatisfied with that answer?" Katsumoto shrugged, "You're too stiff. If it doesn't work out, we'll just tweak the lineup until it does. The boys will understand."

You know what, scratch that. Efficient coach or not, at the end of the day, Kageyama still despised his guts.

"Okay!" Katsumoto yelled while clapping, "Let's wrap it up. Cool down and head off to classes. Remember, afternoon practice is canceled so rest your bodies and prepare yourself for the upcoming matches."

Katsumoto glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, extending an open palm towards the team. Kageyama nodded and cleared his throat, "Stay hydrated and eat a balanced diet. I'm expecting a lot from you guys so be focused and support each other. That is all. "

The team responded with a synchronized 'thank you very much' and started their cool down. Katsumoto smacked him on the back again, a wide grin on his face, "Well said. I need to head over to the principle's office to talk to him about something. I'll leave the rest to you."

"Sure."

Katsumoto did this often. The Principal was his cousin and he'd go talk to him for long periods of time, probably about family drama, or to relay the most recent faculty gossip. And though it was annoying to be the last one to leave, Kageyama liked giving advice to the students when they approached him in the coach's absence. It was the only time he was free to say what he wanted without being restrained by his superior's opinions, and he tried his best to attend to the team members in ways that Katsumoto never tried—emotionally. Yes, he still sucked at cheering people up and his bluntness often came across as rude, but the way he would occasionally stumble over his words or furrow his eyebrows in thought as he did his best to produce worthy advice drove the kids to approach him with more personal issues. Their insecurities and fears, little things they would hide behind a façade of strength in Katsumoto's presence, they'd reveal in whispers to him. Kageyama was sure that just like him, the students had caught on to Katsumoto's lack of empathy. And so, he was determined to be resource for them in that aspect, or at least be clumsy enough in giving them advice that they would walk away with a laugh. Sure, he had his pride, and he'd rather not tackle something he knew he was useless at, but he wanted these kids to have a warmer memory of their volleyball career than he did.

When did he even start thinking this way?

Kageyama gave a short nod at the last student's farewell greeting and locked the storage room behind him. He was positive that whatever this new shift towards sentimentality was, it was surely related to sunshine child Hinata. He pulled out his phone from his back pocket and texted the midget while walking to the station. Yesterday he had told him that afternoon practice would be canceled, and Hinata suggested that they spend the day together. He asked Kageyama to come pick him up from work, and assured that he would take care of all the other details for their 'date'. That phrasing had Kageyama as worried, or even more worried, than the whole Katsumoto thing. Hinata was an idiot—albeit an adorable, honest, and hardworking one, he was an idiot nonetheless. Kageyama wasn't sure if he called it a date as a joke, or if he really was thinking of the romantic implications their recent actions had burned into their relationship. For Kageyama this no longer was a game, it hadn't been since the second time they ran into each other, and it churned his stomach to think that Hinata might still be taking it lightly. But then there was his rigid pride and the fear of asking for the truth. It had been a while since he'd been in this position, and the last time the answer tore right through his trust in people and desire for love. Even him, with his insistent claims that he could brush things off, would deal some damage at this point.

* * *

"It's a pretty ordinary building." Kageyama got up from the plushy dark green chair in the grey walled, somewhat tiny, two-floor office building.

Hinata laughed and walked closer, tugging off his tie while unbuttoning a few of the top buttons, "I told you, it's just the local sports news. We're anything but fancy." Today he was wearing a light grey suit, a bit wild of a color when compared to the usual sea of black, and still, no matter how hard he tried, looked like a kid trying his dad's clothing.

Kageyama smirked, "Suits really aren't your thing."

"Oh, shut up already," Hinata playfully shoved Kageyama and slipped off his jacket, stuffing it with the tie into his messenger bag. "Let's go before I decide to have this date by myself."

Kageyama didn't respond; his mind was too busy revisiting his previous thoughts on the word 'date' so easily slipping from Hinata's mouth. He'd wait until they were in a more private setting and will himself to ask Hinata's opinion—to ask the big 'what are now' question.

"Where are we going?"

Hinata stopped at the curb and looked up at him with a wide grin, "My favorite bar ever."

"…bars aren't open this early, idiot."

The pedestrian signal changed to walk and Hinata sauntered on ahead, "You know something, I'm starting to get offended by your unrelenting insults." He faced Kageyama and stuck out his tongue, "It's a friend's bar, you smartass. He usually sits around and cleans and does whatever, but I asked him to open up early just for us. They also serve food there."

"Huh," Kageyama ran his hand through his hair, "So you actually put some thought into this."

"I did."

"Then…did you use the word date on purpose?"

Hinata played with the strap of his bag and kept looking forward as they walked, "Yeah, were you worried?"

"What would I be worried about?" He was actually worried about a million things; he just couldn't let Hinata know that.

Hinata shook his head, "Nothing, let's talk about this after lunch. We're here."

"What? Hinata!"

Hinata dismissed him with a mischievous smile and stepped into the black-walled establishment with an illuminated 'Black Mamba Bar' lettering hanging above the door. The bar was a decent size, big enough to have a small stage for performances or karaoke near the back, and the interior was a mixture of mahogany and black leather. It was both classy and a bit rebellious, with strange records and posters lining the walls near the sitting area. They headed straight for the bar where a silver-haired man was humming along to the rock music quietly playing from the stereo. He looked up from whatever he was doing and his face melted into a gentle smile, his delicate features enchantingly beautiful. Kageyama knew he was staring, but he really couldn't help it.

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" Hinata whispered, "Everyone thinks so."

"Yeah—I mean, no. You know something…" Kageyama roughly mussed Hinata's hair in an attempt to call attention away from his reddening face, "I'm just going to say no comment."

"So this is the guy you were talking about?" The man questioned, looking Kageyama up and down, "He does seem your type."

Hinata glared at Kageyama while fixing his hair, "I guess he is. His name is Kageyama, and this…" Hinata motioned towards the man, "…is Sugawara. Who, by the way, has a boyfriend he's very much in love with. So you should probably stop ogling him unless you want to deal with Daichi."

"I was not ogling," Kageyama spat and sighed, extending his hand for a handshake, "Nice to meet you, Sugawara."

Sugawara nodded and shook his hand, "The pleasure is mine."

"So, what will you make for us today?" Hinata sat on the stool right in front of Sugawara and Kageyama sat besides him. "How about pasta? Kageyama, Sugawara makes an amazing Japanese-style pasta."

Kageyama shrugged, "That sounds pretty good."

"Pasta it is then. It'll take a few minutes so in the meanwhile, what would you like to drink?"

"Ramune highball for me," Hinata chimed.

"A beer, please."

Sugawara swiftly moved around the bar, setting a perfectly served beer in front of Kageyama and a light blue, bubbling highball in front of Hinata. He was so breathtakingly graceful that Kageyama regretted not asking for a mixed drink just to see his bartending skills. It made him curious how this kind of person could be friends with the munchkin to his side.

"How did you guys get acquainted?"

Hinata bit his straw with a grimace, "I can hear the disbelief in your voice you jerk. Unlike you, I'm warm and friendly, and I make all types of friends."

"What do you mean unlike me? I have friends."

"Tsukishima barely counts," Hinata sneered.

Kageyama reached over and pinched Hinata's cheek, "You get me so irritated. It's like my maturity level regresses back to middle school."

Sugawara chuckled, setting plates of steaming pasta in front of each of them, "You guys really get a long. How long have you've been dating?"

Kageyama drew back his hands and sipped his beer in silence, deciding that it was better to let Hinata handle this one. Hinata straightened up, running his thumb up and down his spoon with a warm smile on his face, "We aren't…At least not yet."

Not yet? Kageyama set his beer down with a clang and took the napkin to wipe some that was dripping from his chin. What the heck did he mean by not yet? Did he want him to make the first move? Was he going to make the first move? Wait. Just earlier the conversation seemed to be heading towards that direction so maybe that's what he wanted to talk about after lunch? What the actual fuck, Hinata. Kageyama loved his spontaneity all right, but this was a total curve ball.

Sugawara raised an eyebrow, smirking somewhat deviously at Kageyama, "What's taking you guys so long?"

Kageyama peeked a glance at Hinata who was shoveling food into his mouth, "What's wrong with taking it slow?"

"Oh, nothing. Hinata make sure to update me when Kageyama finally gets enough courage to ask you out."

Hinata swallowed and wiped his lips, a tiny grin working across his face, "At the pace this is going, I'll probably be the first to ask."

Kageyama stared down at his pasta, twirling the strands around his fork, "You're just trying to rile me up."

"Is it working?"

"Yes, it is. Can we drop this topic, dumbass?" Kageyama forked pasta into his mouth and looked away from Hinata and Sugawara's scheming faces. Their friendship now made a lot more sense.

They hung out for an hour after lunch to enjoy a few of Sugawara's mixed drinks and so that Hinata and him could catch up with each other's lives. Kageyama zoned out, somewhat anxious of whatever Hinata wanted to talk about when they were alone, and only interjected when Hinata addressed him directly. Before they talked about whether they should start dating or not, Kageyama needed to know about Hinata's connection to Katsumoto. His curiosity was eating away at him. And so, he would have to ask him today—the faster he cleared this up, the better.

"We should head out." Hinata said as he hopped off the chair, "How much is the bill?"

Sugawara shook his head, "It's on the house.

"But we'd be taking advantage of your courtesy." Kageyama insisted, taking out his wallet.

"No really, it's fine. Just promise you'll come back for one of our night events and blow all your money on my drinks." A smile graced Sugawara's face while he pet Hinata on the head softly, "Make sure to bring Kageyama around to meet Daichi. I'm sure they'll get a long."

Hinata grinned, "Sure will! I'll see you around Sugawara."

Kageyama bowed slightly, "Thank you for everything," and followed Hinata out of the bar.

They walked in silence for a little while, Hinata guiding them through a few back alleys, 'a shortcut' he assured, while swinging his arms like a kid. The midday sun was shinning down on them with fury and even the occasional breeze wasn't doing much to alleviate the heat; summer was right around the corner. But it was still bearable. The humidity was somewhat low and as a person who had lived through countless of Japan's hellish Augusts, this was still perfect weather.

"Where are we even going?"

"Here. Romantic, isn't it?" Hinata signaled to the entrance of the riverside walk and bikeway.

"I guess it's pretty romantic. But it'd be even more romantic if it were night."

Hinata pouted, "Do you have to be so damn nitpicky?"

"Don't sulk, I was joking." Kageyama softly bumped him, "Let's start walking already."

Hinata walked with a hop to his step, which was amusing to watch since he was decked out in business apparel, "You're right. This is nice and all, but it'd be more fun if it were night."

"What do you mean more fun? What would we do at night that we aren't doing now?"

Hinata smirked while running a finger across his lips, "Hold hands and make-out, or something. At night this is a pretty popular spot for couples. And it's dark enough that nobody would care about what we are doing."

Kageyama followed his finger, instinctively licking his own lips, "You little pervert."

"Hey, don't act like you wouldn't love that. You're basically eating me with your eyes right now."

Kageyama flicked Hinata on the forehead and whispered, "Not so loud, dumbass."

"Yeah, yeah," Hinata mumbled, rubbing the red spot.

"…do you want me to give you a piggyback ride or something? I mean we'll look stupid as hell, but that's pretty romantic?"

Hinata stopped walking and laughed through his nose, "Wait, what? Who told you that was romantic?"

"It isn't? I feel like I've seen it in movies before."

"From like the 90's!" Hinata chuckles died down to a warm smile, "But sure, I'd like that."

"I don't really feel like doing it now that you laughed in my face."

Hinata grinned and pulled down at Kageyama's shoulders, "Oh, come on! Get down."

Kageyama crouched down and scooped his arms under Hinata's legs, now hiked by his hips, and tried not to choke from Hinata's tight grip around his neck. He stood up with ease, partially because he was pretty fit, put also because Hinata was very light. He wondered if the people staring at them thought he was Hinata's older brother based on their height difference and Hinata's deceivingly childish face. They must have looked comical.

"Wow, the view from up here is really different."

"You sound like you just climbed a mountain."

Hinata chuckled, the air from his lips brushing Kageyama's neck, "That's a pretty accurate analogy."

Hinata's chest felt warm against his back, but even in this heat he didn't really mind it, "…are we going to continue our talk from earlier?"

"Hmm." Hinata rested his chin on the arm by Kageyama's right ear, "Yeah, we should."

Kageyama cleared his throat, "So, what would I be worried about?"

"I thought that you might be worried that I'm taking all of this lightly. Especially since I was the one that suggested being friends with benefits."

"And?"

"I'm being serious. I called this a date knowing what that meant, and…I just wanted to know what you were thinking."

"Well, it's pretty hard for me not to be serious, so that much is obvious. But I'm just curious about something."

"Hm? About what?"

"Do you have some kind of history with Coach Katsumoto? You've been acting weird since I mentioned where I work."

He could almost hear Hinata's breath catch in his throat and his forced laugh scratched Kageyama's ears, "What? Why would you even mention him right now."

"There's no point in—" Kageyama's phone vibrated in his pocket, "Ah, wait. Get off." He crouched down to let Hinata hop off, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and picked up the call.

"Yes?"

"Is this Kageyama Tobio, son of Kageyama Haruna?"

"Yes, that's me."

"You're mother is currently hospitalized in a critical state. We advise you come to the Sendai Emergency Medical Care Center immediately."

"W-Wait, what?"

"She collapsed and was brought in by a stranger. We'll fill you in with the rest of the details when you arrive. Please come immediately. Goodbye."

Brusque, cold, precise—exactly what you'd expect from someone who had to make these kinds of calls everyday. His head was pounding and his hand was gripping his cellphone with such force his fingers were turning white. Why hadn't he visited her sooner? If he weren't a shitty son he would have realized something was off with her. He knew she was losing her appetite and she told him she felt lethargic, so why didn't he take a day off to go with her to the doctor? She was stubborn; she hated going by herself so much she rather not go at all. He fucking knew that, yet he didn't even have enough space in his selfish head to spare her a thought or two.

"Kageyama!" Hinata yelled, eyes wide and hands to his face, "What's wrong? You're scaring me."

He slowly loosened his grip on his cell phone, the muscles burning as the tension dissipated, "My mom. She's in the hospital. I have to go now."

Hinata's eyes turned glossy and he nodded, "Okay, let's go. Which one is she in?"

"Sendai Emergency Medical Care Center." His throat felt tight, every word scraping the sides as he forced them out.

Hinata pulled him by the wrist, "Let's run to the station and grab a taxi. It'll be faster."

"Okay."

They were running. He knew that by the way his chest heaved painfully, the aching in his right knee, and Hinata's tiny fingers digging into his wrist; he could feel all of it—but it was dull. His stinging eyes were dry, just like his palms, and a steely face hid the bile gushing around in the pit of his stomach. The taste of blood covered his tongue but it took Hinata's broken voice for him to realize it was from the way he was gnawing at his bottom lip.

Kageyama looked around, his vision a bit hazy. He hadn't realized they were already in the taxi.

Hinata squeezed his hand, "Kageyama, are you okay?"

Kageyama looked down at those honeyed eyes that usually brought him so much comfort. He could see himself in them, and he hated that, "Yeah."

He was okay.

He had to be.


	6. Chapter 6

Border

"Sorry for making you wait. The doctor is ready to see you Kageyama-san."

Kageyama nodded and stood up from the waiting room chair, the creaking sound resonating through the tense air like a cymbal, "You can go home, Hinata."

Hinata shook his head and squeezed Kageyama's hand, "No, I'll wait for you here."

"Fine." Kageyama slipped his hand away and mussed Hinata's hair before turning to follow after the nurse.

The Sendai Emergency Medical Care Center wasn't huge—maybe two to three floors, forty rooms maximum. The air was dry, stinging the nose with a sharp scent of alcohol and Kageyama couldn't figure out if it was his nerves or that scent that was causing his nausea. He rubbed at his temples and focused his eyes on the blue stitching of the nurse's hat. He needed to steel his mind for his and his mother's sake.

They reached a black door at the end of the hallway and the nurse knocked twice while announcing them.

"Doctor Takeno, Kageyama-san is here."

"Come in."

They shuffled into the brightly lit office, the nurse closing the door behind her and guiding Kageyama to the chair in front of the doctor's desk. The young doctor took off his silver glasses and folded them, his exhaustion pooling in the dark circles under his eyes.

Takeno extended a hand, "I'm Takeno Mamoru. I'll be the main doctor in charge of your mother from now on. Nice to meet you Kageyama-san."

"Nice to meet you." Kageyama shook his hand and sat back on the chair.

"As the nurse told you on the phone, your mother is in critical condition. We are in the process of stabilizing her and preparing her for a dialysis to deal with her kidney failure. We will also need to do a plasma exchange, and red blood cells and platelet transfusions."

"Plasma exchange?" Kageyama choked out, "What's wrong with my mother?"

Takeno put on his glasses again and flipped through the documents on his desk, "There are many things that can cause kidney failure but once we studied a sample of your mother's blood we found a few abnormalities. Kageyama-san, has your mother talked to you about her health recently?"

"Yeah. She said she was feeling tired and sleepy all the time. Also, she hasn't had much of an appetite for a while now."

"And when was the last time she went to a doctor?"

Kageyama bit his lip, "…I'm not sure."

"Well," Takeno sighed, "We think she might have atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. This kind of syndrome causes the destruction of red blood cells through abnormal blood clotting and leads to kidney failure if not detected early enough. Some of the symptoms include lethargy, sleepiness, and loss of appetite like you mentioned your mother was experiencing."

Kageyama unconsciously clawed at the arm of the chair, his breath a bit shallow, "Can you cure her?"

"Not fully. She'll most likely need to be on medicine for the rest of her life. However, if she is diligent with taking her medicine and is cautious, the syndrome won't be too much of a disturbance in her daily life. But first we need to save her kidneys and do all the transfusions. I will like to make it known to you that all these procedures are pretty high risk. Also, we need a fresh plasma and platelet donor.

"My blood type is A. Does that work?" Kageyama sputtered.

Takeno shook his head, "No, your mother is type B so your blood types are incompatible. What about your father? He's listed as an emergency contact but we couldn't reach him."

"He's on a business trip to Korea but if I remember correctly, he's type AB."

"Can he return immediately? His plasma is compatible with your mother's."

"He can." Kageyama stated firmly, completely sure of the fact that his father would do everything in his power to return as soon as possible, " I'll call him right after this."

"Okay, that's good. This is all I have to tell you at this time but I'll keep you updated as we proceed."

"Thank you, doctor." Kageyama stood up, bowed, and rushed out of the room as he pulled out his cellphone. He opened his Line app and pressed the call button besides the 'dad' contact, praying under his breath for his father to still be awake and near his phone. After a few rings a gruff voiced answered.

"Tobio? Why are you calling so late?"

"Mom's in the hospital." He stated as calmly as his shaky voice could muster—mostly because he was still making his way back to the waiting room and would be chided if he were loud.

"Huh?" Some shuffling was audible, "Why? What's wrong with her?"

"Dad, her kidney is failing because she has a blood abnormality. We need you here as soon as possible so you can be her plasma donor."

"I'll be there in a few hours," He softly replied, "I'll make the arrangements and get on the next plane going out to Japan. "

Kageyama nodded, as if his father were actually in front of him to see it, "See you soon."

"It'll be okay, Tobio. Don't beat yourself up over this. Just hang in there until I get there."

"Yeah." Kageyama pressed the heel of his hand to his eyes; they were dry, but he felt like he needed to do it as a precaution, "I'll try."

"Good. See you in a bit."

And the line went dead.

Kageyama shoved his cellphone in his back pocket and rested his head against the cold, white wall of the hallway. He took measured breaths, counting the seconds in his head to keep himself in pace and melodically shift into some sort of artificial composure. Everyone kept reminded him that things would work out fine, as if they could read the uncertainty and fear lacing his voice or dipping in the furrow of his eyebrows. He needed to be stronger than that. Logical, collected, just like normal—if he convinced himself, he would be able to convince everyone else.

Kageyama returned to the waiting room and the mop of orange hair sitting there came as a slight surprise. Truthfully, he had forgotten about Hinata. He rubbed his palms against his jeans and mentally cursed himself because he was slowly coming to the prickling realization that he was the absolute worst. Hinata was trying his best to give him support, those bright eyes turning liquid with sympathy and worry, yet he had the audacity to forget about him. He had always known he had a one-track mind, but here he was, trying to juggle things as if he actually had the capacity to give equal attention to all of them.

"Hey," Kageyama tiredly mumbled, burying his hand into the soft mass of Hinata's hair.

Hinata jolted and looked up with wide eyes, "Hey. Is she okay?"

Kageyama sat down next to Hinata with a heavy sigh and pressed his hands into a fist, "Her kidneys are failing because of a blood condition she has. They are going to do a dialysis and then we'll have to wait for my father to return from Korea so he can donate plasma."

Hinata placed a hand on Kageyama's knee, "I'm sorry that all this is happening."

"Yeah." Kageyama buried his face in his hands, "It's mostly my fault, anyhow. I should have paid more attention to her."

"That's not true." Hinata squeezed Kageyama's knee, "You can't predict the future. This is no one's fault."

"I guess."

Hinata gave Kageyama a quick peck on the temple; "You know you can talk to me, right? Bottling it up is only going to make you more stressed."

"…I'm not bottling anything up."

"Okay, if you say so…" Hinata ran a hand through Kageyama's hair and stood up, " I'll go get us some coffee."

Kageyama stared at the grainy surface of the tiling on the floor, fingers fiddling with each other, while his mind simultaneously thought about everything yet nothing at all. He could feel a headache coming on and welcomed it warmly; the pain and haziness would keep him awake but numb his habit of overthinking. After a few minutes, Hinata returned with two steaming cups of coffee from the cafeteria and a pile of sugar packets and creamers for Kageyama.

"I hope I got enough creamers for you." Hinata passed Kageyama his cup of coffee while trying not to drop all the little containers that were balancing on the lid.

"Thanks." Kageyama muttered and nestled the cup between his legs so he could start emptying the packets into the coffee. He took off the lid, poured everything in, and placed the lid on again, swirling the contents a few times before taking his first sip. It was extremely rancid coffee but it would do its job of keeping him awake until his mother was in the clear. Kageyama sipped the coffee till it was lukewarm and then downed it in a few gulps. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and leaned back on the chair, fingers now fiddling with the lid of the cup. He was restless.

"You called your father? When did he say he was getting here?" Hinata said softly, something just above a whisper.

Kageyama shrugged, "He's probably on the plane by now. He'll be here in a few hours."

"Are you okay?"

Kageyama wasn't sure how to answer that. Wasn't it natural for a person to say yes when asked that? He didn't really have a choice in the matter. His duty was to be okay or, at the very least, act like he was.

"Yeah, Hinata. I'm okay."

Hinata sighed and scooted closer to Kageyama, "I shouldn't have asked that", he murmured mostly to himself. He placed his head on Kageyama's shoulder and intertwined a tiny warm hand with Kageyama's cold one, "Do you mind? Barely anyone is here."

"I don't mind."

Kageyama looked up towards the flickering ceiling light and closed his eyes. He let his mind tiptoe past his muddled thoughts, guided by the soft caresses of Hinata's thumb against the back of his hand, and swim in the burning, headache-thumping darkness. It was a meditative state where time just moved along to the beat of his every breath. He stayed like this—listening to the mix of Hinata and his own breath— for what he could guess was a half hour, and then started to count every inhale in order to keep his mind from wandering to other thoughts. It had probably been two hours since he closed his eyes, and about an hour after Hinata's hand had stilled, when Kageyama heard the gentle voice of a nurse trying to rouse them from their sleep.

Kageyama's eyes snapped open and he shot up from his chair, startling both the nurse and the sleeping Hinata. "How did the dialysis go?" he huffed, exhaustion now creeping into his voice and reddening eyes.

The nurse offered a smile, "It was successful. Your mother is stabilized now. We just need to wait on your father to start the rest of the procedures."

"Can I see her?"

"You may only see her from outside the glass panel of her room."

"That's fine."

"We'll prepare some sterile garments for you then. Please follow me."

"Can you wait a minute?" Kageyama turned to Hinata who was now fully awake. "Go home. You have work tomorrow, don't you?"

Hinata rubbed his eyes as he stood up, "But I want to stay here with you. I can call work in the morning and have someone take over for me."

"That's pointless. There is no need for you to miss work for me."

"It's not pointless! I want to be here for you," Hinata insisted.

"I don't need you to!" Kageyama screamed, eyes widening in surprise from the force of his voice. He tried to swallow the immediate regret he was feeling but his tightening throat made that difficult.

"O-Oh." Hinata lowered his head and forced a pathetic laugh, "Sorry for being such a bother when you already have your hands full." His unusually quiet voice cracked towards the end of the sentence but he just cleared his throat to distract from the obvious tremble in each syllable.

"Hinata…that's—

Hinata gave him a small smile, "Really, it's fine. I was being stupid. You are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself." He slightly furrowed his eyebrows and blinked away any threat of tears, "I'll go now. I really hope your mom gets better. Just call me if you ever need my help."

"Okay." Kageyama mumbled, pinching the fabric of his pants to stop himself from reaching out to Hinata as he grabbed his messenger bag and walked away. This was for the better. He needed to focus on his mother and there was no point in dragging Hinata into his problems.

Kageyama turned to the nurse, apologized for the disturbance, and followed her to his mother's room without so much of a glance towards the exit.

* * *

When his father arrived at the hospital several hours later, at around 6 in the morning, Kageyama was sitting alone in the waiting room with his forth cup of coffee at hand. He was so focused on staring at the pattern of the paper cup he didn't notice his father until he tapped him on the shoulder.

"Tobio?"

Kageyama flinched and stood up to give his father a quick hug, "Welcome home, dad."

"How's your mother?"

Kageyama rolled his neck, "She's completely stable now. Though, she's lost a lot of weight and looks so damn pale."

Kageyama's father ruffled his hair, "Like you right now? You look horrible. I'll take over from here so go get some rest."

"I can manage. I want to stay until you've done all the transfusions."

"No." His father said sternly, "I don't want you ending up in the hospital as well. Go home. Right now."

"Fine." Kageyama sighed, "I took the next few days off from work so I'll be back later tonight."

"Okay, I'll see you later." Kageyama's father patted him on the back and went over to the nurses by the counter to start his procedures.

The automatic doors opened with an irritating ping and Kageyama walked out of the hospital. He hooded his face from the blinding sun with his hand, eyes burning at the intensity of the morning hours. Every step he took to the closest train station was heavy, the caffeine in his blood causing trembles and pulling him closer to that eminent crash. He dug around in his pocket for his train pass and only realized his phone was vibrating after he was holding it in his hand.

"Hello?"

"Good morning to you too, Sunshine."

"Tsukishima, I'm not in the mood right now, " Kageyama hissed.

"I know, I know." Tsukishima relented, "Is your mom doing okay?"

Kageyama leaned against a wall by the ticket gate, "She's doing fine now. How did you find out?"

"Well, a little orange birdie came to take my place on Yamaguchi's bed yesterday. I had to sleep on the floor while listening to that birdie cry to Yamaguchi about how useless he felt."

"Fuck…" Kageyama mumbled, "I'm such an asshole."

"I wouldn't take it that hard. Just patch things up with him after you've stopped stressing over your mom."

"Yeah, I will. And…I owe you one."

Tsukishima hummed, "I wish I would have recorded that. Having the king be grateful to me only comes once in a blue moon."

"I want to punch you."

"Anyhow, listen carefully because I'll only say it once…"

"What?"

"Call me if you need anything, seriously. Also Yamaguchi sends your mom get-well wishes. Bye."

Kageyama stared at his phone screen in disbelief. If even Tsukishima was taking pity on him then he really needed to get his shit together. Sleep—all he needed right now was sleep. He'd figure out everything else after that.

And so, deciding that this was the best course of action, he tapped into the station and made his way back home.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Guys, I don't update on this website anymore. I am just keeping things up because this is where my roots started and it's nice to see the good old days. If you want the most recent updates to this fic in particular (and other fics of mine) please find me on Archive of Our Own under this same name. Love ya~


	7. Chapter 7

Soaking Up

It was dark outside when Kageyama's eyes finally peeled open.

He felt like absolute shit. His throat was dry, tongue gritty and tasting like the rancid coffee from earlier, and for a good disoriented minute or so, he couldn't remember why he was passed out on his couch.

But when the fog left his brain and he recalled the reason for his sorry state, he shot up to his feet, almost tripping over the cushion he pushed to the floor, and grabbed his phone from the coffee table. It was already 5pm and he had missed one call from his father. He pressed the call button and kept the phone pressed to his ear as he ran to his room for a change of clothes. Every ring traveled through his ear and straight down to his stomach, landing heavy. After what seemed like forever and as Kageyama just finished zipping up a pair of jeans, a tired, surprisingly soft voice echoed from across the line.

"Hey Tobio. How are—"

"How's mom?" Kageyama pressed, a bit breathless.

"…She's doing well. All the procedures are done and the doctor said she might wake up soon."

Kageyama pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh, "Good. Good…are you doing okay, dad?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. They took a lot of blood so I just need to make sure I eat and sit down for a while. But that aside, did you get enough sleep?"

"I did. I'm fine, dad."

"Okay, if you say so."

"I'm heading over now so I'll see you soon.

"See you."

Kageyama ended the call and slid his cellphone into his back pocket. He raised his hands to his head, slowly, cautiously, as if afraid to find out he was missing his head, and roughly mussed his hair. _He was fine._ Yeah, he was totally fine. He was going to clean himself up a bit to avoid looking like he had stayed up all night in the hospital, even though that's exactly what he did, and would be the perfect image of calm and composure when his mother opened her eyes.

His hands, still trembling from the caffeine circulating in his blood, or from the nerves, or both, dropped down to rub at his sore eyes. He shouldn't have slept with his contacts—not that he had the mental capacity to even think about that this morning. Kageyama shook his head and grabbed his glasses from the nightstand, making his way to the bathroom mirror in order to take off his contacts. Yes, even after wearing contacts for about a year now, he still needed a mirror to do anything that required, quite literally, hand-eye coordination.

When he was done—hair groomed, glasses properly resting on top of his nose, face stoic—he grabbed his wallet, turned off all the lights, and locked the door.

On the way to the hospital Kageyama's mind was buzzing. It busied itself, doing the sort of mental gymnastics where it would grab hold of any random thought as long as it didn't consist of relevant self-reflection. It was a form of efficient distraction, an act of avoidance in a way, and Kageyama was really good at it.

The first thing he thought about was his current expression. It probably seemed angry, frustrated, maybe even pensive, but although he was feeling all of that, his face always gave away only the tiniest hints to the complexity of feeling whirling inside Kageyama. It was mostly due to him being a natural performer from birth, honing his stoic face because he knew if he didn't, if he let the world use his face to see into his heart, they would see _all_ of it—his love for men, his jaded mistrust of people, and how fragile he actually was. Everyday became a performance of heterosexuality, of strength, and of stability. It was tiring. And though he no longer needed to pretend in some aspects (i.e. being straight) in front of close friends and family, he had been wound up tight for so long he was still struggling to let himself be hurt and vulnerable—that is, until he met Hinata. The midget was changing him quite a bit.

Damn, he really wanted to see him.

Kageyama imaged the gloss in Hinata's eyes from tears he shed last night. Almost feeling the warmth of Hinata's cheek in his hand and the tiny blissful breath he would let out as Kageyama caressed him. Those pursed lips then curving into a smile, eyes looking up at Kageyama like he was special and giving his lungs a jolt that helped him breathe easier. Just a bit more until he could see Hinata—a bit more until the air around him felt light again.

When Kageyama arrived at the hospital, his father was sitting in the waiting room and sipping a cup of coffee. The mere sight of the cup made Kageyama shudder, his stomach churning a bit at the thought of the volatile mixture.

"Hey," Kageyama mumbled as he sat down besides his father. "Has mom woken up yet?"

"She did, about a half hour ago." Kageyama's father pinched the bridge of his nose, "But we can't see her until they make sure she is stable."

Kageyama sucked his teeth, "And how long will that take?"

"They said about an hour. Be patient, Tobio." Kageyama's father looked at his watch, "We still have at least half an hour. Have you eaten?"

"No." Kageyama placed a hand on his stomach, "But now that you mention it, I'm starving."

"Let's go eat something in the cafeteria. It's been a while since we've talked."

They made their way downstairs and nabbed a two-person table in the bleak, weakly lit corner of the cafeteria. Kageyama insisted that his father stay seated, reminding him that he had just gotten a lot of blood drawn, and went to the service window to get their lunch. He ordered ramen because it's really hard to fuck up ramen so much that it becomes inedible but he wasn't too sure about the rest of the menu items. Also, Kageyama knew from experience that both he and his father had a pretty high tolerance for shitty ramen— there we even times they had competitions over who could eat the most of any particularly bad ramen they happened to find. That was a long time ago, though.

Kageyama took a ramen set in each hand, placing his flexed hand on the bottom of the trays like a waiter would. He walked to their table at a steady pace, and set down one bowl in front of his father and the other across from him.

Kageyama took his seat and glanced up at his dad, "…I don't remember the last time we sat down to eat like this.

"It was last winter…the day after Christmas."

"Oh." Kageyama looked down through foggy glasses at his bowl and used his chopsticks to sink the beef deeper into the broth of the ramen.

"So about your mom." Kageyama's dad took a few bites of his noodles and then continued, "I'm going to take some time off of work to take care of her so you don't need to worry. I feel like I have been traveling too much lately. I'm at fault for leaving her alone so often."

"I'm also at fault. I never visit, and she had even called me recently to ask that I come by soon. I feel like if I had visited earlier I could have noticed something was wrong with her."

Kageyama's dad sighed, "We are too alike in that aspect…don't blame yourself, though. It would make your mother mad."

They return their focus to the ramen and let silence sit comfortably between them. This was natural for them, quickly getting down their food (because unfortunately, Kageyama definitely got his habit of scarfing down food like a starving dog from his father) without saying much. And yes, Kageyama wouldn't say he was particularly close with his father, but since the only thing his father ever required of him was his presence, a few minutes of shared space, it made Kageyama feel at ease.

Kageyama wiped his lips with a napkin, "We should head up. They're probably done checking mom."

"You're right."

They empty their trays, setting them down in the designated area, and proceeded upstairs. Not even a minute passed once they were in the waiting room when a nurse approached the two and informed them that they were now allowed to visit the patient. The nurse led them through a freshly polished hallway, sterile and cold, and into the first room to the right. There his mother was, propped up on the hospital bed with a distant gaze glued to the door—pale, tired, and sickly.

"Honey…" Kageyama's father rushed to take the seat by her side, gently taking hold and kissing the hand she reached out to them. Kageyama couldn't help but freeze and just watch, he had never seen his dad look so vulnerable or so loving.

"Darling…Tobio, I'm so happy to see you two," she whispered, tears brimming her eyes. "I was so scared…"

Kageyama walked up to the bed, bending down slowly to kiss his mother on the forehead. He was a bit awkward since none of them ever shared this kind of familial intimacy, but he thought it was appropriate, even necessary. "Mom, we're so proud of you. You did great, and you'll get better soon."

She reached up to caress Kageyama's cheek with her free hand, "Thank you." She let her hand drop, her eyes moving from Kageyama's face to her husband's, carefully studying each. "I was so scared…", she whispered again, "as I was losing consciousness I couldn't picture your faces. I used to be able to see every detail in my head, I—" Small sobs slipped in between each word as she continued, "—I was terrified I was going to die not having a clear memory of my family to take with me. P-Please…don't make me feel like that again. Even if it's just a picture, please…"

"I'm so sorry," his dad started, eyes watery and voice dripping with guilt, "Honey, I'm so sorry we left you alone. We'll do better. You'll never have to feel like that again."

Kageyama bit his lip to hold back tears that were dangerously close to falling down and he kneeled by the bed, shy fingers touching the hand his dad was holding on to, "We promise."

They stayed like that for at least thirty minutes, listening to Kageyama's mother's sniffling, holding on to her hand as if to keep her there, with them, whispering words of love and care, quietly, to ease that pain in all of them. It was the most they felt like a family in a long, long time. But eventually a nurse popped her head into the room to remind them that the patient needed rest and that it would be best if they came back tomorrow. Kageyama stood up to argue with the nurse but his father stopped him, reminding him they were in a hospital and they needed to listen to the rules.

"Fine." Kageyama gave his mother another kiss on the forehead, "I'll visit tomorrow."

"Tobio, go on ahead to the lobby, " his father insisted, "I'll be right behind you."

Kageyama nodded, "I got it", and walked out of the room. It was obvious his father was about to do something he would find embarrassing to do in front of his son—whether that was just lip-locking, flirting, or a combination of both, Kageyama didn't really care to find out.

And, there was someone he needed to see right now.

Kageyama was sure his father wouldn't be out any time soon so he sent him a text to let him know he was leaving, and then started writing a text to Hinata as he walked to the station. His first attempt was an apology, long-winded and self-deprecating, but he quickly scrapped it. Direct and simple was better. He should save the apology and explanation until he could say it to Hinata in person.

 **To: Hinata**

I need to see you. Are you home?

Hinata answered immediately. By this point Kageyama was almost running; he wanted to see him right now. He needed him close.

 **From: Hinata**

How's your mom?! And yeah, I am.

 **To: Hinata**

She's okay. Heading there right now.

Kageyama could feel this pain he had held so tight to his chest uncoiling, slowly, as if it had gotten caught in his mother's hospital room door and was slipping from him the farther he traveled away from that place. He knew it would come, this inevitable collapse, and there was only one place he felt safe enough to let it happen.

"Kageyama…" Hinata mumbled when he opened the door, eyes wide and gleaming, "I—

Kageyama didn't let him finish. He simply took off his shoes, hoisted Hinata up over his shoulder, slammed the door shut, and carried him to his room. Everything happened in so quick procession Hinata was made speechless, and even when he started an attempt to say something, he quickly decided against saying anything at all. Kageyama had his reasons, he was sure, so Hinata just let him do what he wanted.

And what he wanted was simple. Once inside Hinata's room, Kageyama shut the lights, placed his glasses on the nightstand, and carefully dropped onto the bed while still holding onto Hinata. _Not once did he let go._ His grip on Hinata's waist just became more desperate, his face now burying deeper into Hinata's chest. Hinata lay stiff for a bit, unsure of what to make of this, but as warm tears seeped through his shirt his body started to meld around Kageyama's shaking frame. His back curved so his tiny arms could better cradle Kageyama's head, one hand gripping Kageyama's shirt, the other diving into his hair. Hinata closed his eyes and kissed sweet nothings onto Kageyama's head. _You did well, holding it together for this long. You did well. Just let it all go_. _You did well._ His voice was velvety and gentle, but as steady as the arms that enveloped Kageyama. And they only became stronger, holding Kageyama close to him until his heaving chest had tired, until his eyes had run dry, and until he was so completely spent of emotion, relief began to lull him into a deep sleep.

 _He was falling in more ways than one._ Even in Kageyama's slipping conscious, that fact was obvious.

Kageyama had never dealt well with loss, or even the idea of it. It rattled him from deep within, knocking every single pillar he thought was unmovable. And even though Hinata's arms held him tight, pressing into him as if to mark his skin with presence, with adoration, with a loud and fiery assurance, their ashes stoked more than just Kageyama's love for Hinata—they also fed the rooting fear he had of losing him.


	8. Chapter 8

Pressing Skin

"Hey…good morning, sleepy head."

The pleasingly gentle whisper breezed by Kageyama's ear. Though it had slightly preempted his true waking, the words guided Kageyama's swimming eyes, which were still adjusting to the sun radiating throughout the room, right to the wide smile beaming at him. And as the scent of eggs and sausage wafted towards him, he finally saw it—Hinata was holding a tray of food just a few inches from his face.

Kageyama bit back a small grin and started sitting up, shuffling back to rest on the backboard of the bed, " You have such a stupid look on your face."

Hinata chuckled, shimming closer to Kageyama and placing the tray on his lap, "I can say the same to you." He pointed at the corner of the tray where there was an icepack placed inside a bowl, "Your eyes are a bit swollen so you should put that on them."

"It's fine, they'll be back to normal by the afternoon," Kageyama mumbled, a bit sheepish.

"No," Hinata stated, grabbing the ice pack in his hand, "Close your eyes and face me."

"You're like my mother," Kageyama grumbled while still doing exactly what Hinata had asked.

Hinata softly pressed the icepack over Kageyama's eyes, pushing ever so slightly near the under-eye area. He slid his hand to the back of Kageyama's head and rested it on the base of the neck to add support against the pressure he was putting on his eyes. "…Are you feeling better?"

"Are you asking about my eyes or about yesterday's breakdown?"

Hinata gathered some of the hair at the base of Kageyama's neck in his hand, "…both."

Kageyama trailed his hand up the arm Hinata was using to keep the icepack on his eyes—paced, barely pressing on the skin—and stopped at Hinata's wrist, "My eyes feel fine." He slowly tugged the wrist away, letting the icepack fall on the tray, and kept the slim wrist in his grasp, his thumb caressing the velvety skin in its reach. "And emotionally, I'm feeling lighter than I've felt in a really long time."

Hinata's lips curled up into a warm smile, and his hand moved from behind Kageyama's head to his cheek. There he carefully wiped a drop of water that was dripping from where the icepack was resting and gave the skin a grandma's pinch. "Next time, warn me a bit earlier, okay? I'll gladly wrap you up in my arms and make sure those tears never come out."

' _Next time.'_

It made Kageyama's chest tighten, heart slamming inside his ribcage. Hinata no longer hesitated to make promises between the two of them _._ There was such clarity to his voice. It was steady, reassuring, and so damn tender. In his vision of the future, no matter how near or far it maybe be compared to Kageyama's, they were there _together_. That feeling was mutual. And for now, that was enough for Kageyama.

"Ow, "Kageyama winced, a light chuckle lacing the end of it, "You'll comfort me like you did yesterday?"

Hinata stuck his tongue out, "Yup. You can cry into my chest anytime you want."

"Okay…" Kageyama suddenly pulled Hinata by the wrist, catching him by the waist with their faces just mere millimeters away from each other. Kageyama kept his eyes glued to Hinata's widened ones and feathered the tips of his fingers past the waistband of Hinata's shorts. His voice was low and measured, "What if I want another form of comfort?"

That blissful lightness Kageyama had felt earlier was turning into something else—something anxious and needy, scorching the pit of his stomach. _He was so fucking in love with the man in front of him._ He didn't know if Hinata had noticed yet how wrapped around that perfect, tiny finger he had him. The pressure in his chest from just the way Hinata talked, or moved, that weight was always leaving him gasping for air. It was uncomfortable yet comforting, familiar, prickly... and building rapidly. How many ways could he make Hinata his? _He wanted him_. It made him angry how much he wanted him.

Hinata snickered and glanced down at his elbow, which was touching Kageyama's toast, "Can't you eat first? The food will get cold."

"I'll make sure to eat it later, even if it's cold. Also, microwaves exist." Kageyama inched his fingers further, "Come on."

"No," Hinata puffed out his cheeks. "It won't taste as good if it's microwaved."

Kageyama pressed his fingers into Hinata's wrist and ghosted his lips right above the crook of Hinata's neck, "Shouyou…"

Hinata trembled and an airy gasp left his lips, his body sinking further into Kageyama's grasp. He turned his head to whisper into Kageyama's ear, "Okay. I get it," and placed his free hand on Kageyama's shoulder to give them some distance. "But at least put the tray on the night stand so we don't spill it everywhere."

Kageyama released Hinata, grabbed the tray on his lap, and leaned over to the other side of the bed to place it on the nightstand. Hinata took this opportunity to swing a leg over Kageyama's stretched position, pushing his back flat against the mattress and straddling him. Kageyama licked his lips in anticipation and raked his fingers up Hinata's thighs. He wasn't sure if it was the spiking desire that was making his vision a bit hazy, but in this angle, with his eyes unfocused, cheeks just a few shades darker, hair gleaming in the enshrouding light—Hinata looked ethereal. Sexy, beautiful, silly, naive…so many things the midget could be simultaneously, and not one lesser in ability to spark that fire in the pit of Kageyama's stomach. Hinata pulled his t-shirt over his head, effortlessly slinging it across the bedroom, and helped Kageyama with his.

"Let's stay like this" Hinata cooed, placing his forearms at either side of Kageyama's head and dipping down to close the distance between their faces, "I want to ride you."

"How do you say shit like that with such ease," Kageyama groaned, fingers teasing the thigh hems of Hinata's boxers. "Hurry up."

Hinata grinned and shook his head, "But I like taking it slow."

Kageyama glared at Hinata and placed a hand on each side of his hips, "You say that, but…." He held Hinata's slim hips in place with a steel grip and brought his own hips up to grind their erections, "…you are raging to go."

"Ah," Hinata moaned, forehead resting against Kageyama's, "Y-Yeah. But you're too impatient."

"I am." Kageyama dived his hand into Hinata's hair and pulled his face down for a kiss. Their lips touched momentarily, lazily, softly, and then Kageyama slipped his tongue into Hinata's mouth. Their tongues circled, rubbed, and slid against each other, with nips and bites to shake up the pace. It was breathy and wet, their tongues reaching very corner and lapping up each moan and pant that dripped from their lips. As they continued to kiss, their hands roamed each other's bodies; Kageyama vigorously palming Hinata's ass while Hinata pressed himself against Kageyama's groin, hands caressing his abs. Hinata broke the kiss with a quick bite to Kageyama's bottom lip and ducked down to focus on his neck. He breathed hot air on the area, lightly trailing kisses from the crook to the shoulder over and over again until he could feel Kageyama slightly writhing under him. Hinata continued to tease him, now sucking on different spots of his neck while arching his back to increase the friction between their erections. And just as Kageyama was about to snap from impatience, he picked a fleshy part on the crook of the neck to bite down, _hard_. Kageyama grunted and pulled at Hinata's hair in reaction, but Hinata thrust his hips against Kageyama's for that intoxicating mix of pain and pleasure.

"Y-You fucker," Kageyama huffed, eyes unfocused and half-lidded.

"I told you I was going to get you back for last time," Hinata snickered and slowly rocked his hips back and forth, eyes glued on Kageyama's face to observe his eyebrows furrowing in pleasure. Though, it was hard to watch for long since he was also feeling it—the jolts of pleasure strong enough to make his vision blurry. Hinata dipped down for another sloppy kiss; their tongues rushing at each other with hunger, Kageyama biting Hinata's lip with a bit too much force and lapping at the cut apologetically. _More. He needed more._ With a muted grunt, Kageyama once more dug his fingers into Hinata's hips and thrust, grinded, and bucked up to meet each of Hinata's motions. Hinata rested his head in the crook of Kageyama's neck, body turning putty, sultry moans echoing, and legs quivering lewdly from the intense simulation.

"W-wait, " Hinata whimpered, "I-I'll come if you continue."

Kageyama licked the outer edge of Hinata's ear, voice thick, "I'll go faster then."

"Jerk sto—Ah, Kag…yama," Hinata gasped, closing his eyes tightly and digging his nails into Kageyama's chest as his climax neared. After just a few more quick thrusts, the bed creaking shamefully, Hinata's body tensed and he came with a loud, broken moan. Hinata let his body slack onto Kageyama, staying still until the after wave had passed and his breathing was somewhat leveled.

Kageyama rubbed Hinata's back and kissed what he could reach of his damp forehead, "You're beautiful", he murmured.

Hinata let out a blissful sigh and sat up again, cheeks a deep shade of red, "And you're a sap, as usual. A sap that's about to burst so we should take care of that."

"We should." Kageyama snapped the waistband of Hinata's damp boxers, "And you should take that off." He reached back behind his head to open the nightstand drawer, "Your lube and condoms are here, right?'

"Crap," Hinata exclaimed as he slid out of his boxers, "We used all my condoms last time."

"You should have restocked, idiot." Kageyama passed Hinata the lube and propped himself up on his elbows, "So what should we do?"

Hinata shrugged, a smug smile on his face, "Since it's you, I'm fine with doing it raw."

"Since it's me?"

Hinata gave a quick nodded and slicked his fingers with lube, "Yup. You get special treatment so appreciate it. You owe me like five breakfast-in-beds for this." He rested a hand on Kageyama's shoulder, leaning his chest closer to Kageyama's face to give himself better access to his entrance. Hinata slowly prodded in a sticky index and middle finger, eyebrows knitting at the familiar stretch, and he glanced down at Kageyama in search of a distraction from the fact that he was just silently, and brazenly, fingering himself. Kageyama got the hint, and instead of continuing to eat Hinata alive with his eyes, he busied himself with being a good distraction. He started with what was easiest to reach at the moment and lapped at Hinata's chest, using the tip of his tongue to tease at the hardening nipples. He alternated between lucking and sucking them, occasionally giving them a nip here and there.

"As always, you're slow," Kageyama muttered against Hinata's chest.

"S-Shut up," Hinata retorted, breath now labored and hot.

Kageyama snaked an arm around Hinata's waist and sat up, leaning most of his weight on one hand. "Let me help you," he insisted, reaching forward to place his hand on top of the one Hinata was fingering himself with. Kageyama forced Hinata's hand into a rapid pace and Hinata pressed his hips forward, partly to get away from the pounding fingers and partly to rub his leaking dick against Kageyama's lower stomach.

"Mmn, ah! O-Okay, stop…I'm ready," Hinata huffed, dripping fingers now diving into Kageyama's briefs and impatiently pulling them down until Kageyama was fully exposed.

Kageyama poured some lube on his hand and slicked himself up while Hinata shifted to better align himself over Kageyama's dick. Hinata gripped the back of Kageyama's neck, nails lightly scraping the skin, lips parted and gasping as he lowered himself onto Kageyama, a little too quickly, and completely lost in the heat of it all. They were being quite… _messy_. And _clumsy_ —much like teenagers trying to get one in before their parent's catch them. But there was always more to that story. It was truly rooted in a need to have that person's shape seared onto their body, memorized, so the time away from them was a bit less lonely. It was an insecurity of being apart: a dependence, one that neither Kageyama nor Hinata had ever really experienced, in the physical existence of another human. It was so new, tingly, wet, confusing, and _mutual._ Yes, it was mutual.

Kageyama wrapped both arms around Hinata's waist and helped him sink all the way down, letting out a gruff, muffled moan when he was fully in to the hilt. Hinata looped his other arm around Kageyama's neck and pulled him even closer, lips pressing wet moans onto Kageyama's lips as he lifted and lowered himself. Their pace started slow and forceful, with Hinata lifting himself almost completely off of Kageyama, and then slamming back down, angling it so Kageyama hit the spot that made him tremble with pleasure. Kageyama licked Hinata's ear and worked his tongue down to that soft spot below the ear and above the jaw line, pressing soft kisses and hushed grunts onto that spot.

"Faster," he growled, his arms tightening around Hinata's waist and his hips thrusting up at a quicker pace. Kageyama could feel that familiar weight and heat at the base of his stomach, _he was close_. He reached down to give Hinata's dick some attention, timing his thrusts with every pump—the sound of flesh slapping flesh and Hinata's endless, breathy moans bringing his climax that much faster. But it was the way Hinata clenched around him when he came, lips quivering his name, which really pushed him over the edge. He climaxed shortly after Hinata with a throaty moan, teeth digging into Hinata's neck until it passed. He kissed the spot and pressed his damp forehead against Hinata's, a satisfied sigh escaping his lips.

"Great, as always."

Hinata nodded, eyes still glossy, "Probably the best I've ever had." He gave Kageyama a chaste kiss, "Can you just carry me to the shower like this? I'm tired and it'll get even messier if you pull out."

"Okay, _princess_." Kageyama mocked, " Just tightly hook your legs around my waist."

Hinata swung his legs around Kageyama, muttering, " Too tired for your stupid jokes."

Kageyama ungracefully scooted them to the edge of the bed and stood up, tightening one arm below Hinata's arms, and the other right above his ass to keep him close. Hinata buried his face in the small window of warm skin between Kageyama's neck and the arms he had securely wrapped around it.

"What do you want to do after our shower?"

Hinata yawned and snuggled closer, "Nap. I want a nap."

Kageyama chuckled, placing a soft kiss on Hinata's temple, "Then, a nap it is."


	9. Chapter 9

Friction

 **From: Dad**

Hey Tobio. I figured you'd want a status report on your mother. She's doing fine, much better than yesterday. She's even sitting up and eating a bit. If you're planning to visit, do so in the evening. They are starting to run more tests on her so you won't be able to see her until much later. Well, that's all I have to say. See you soon.

Kageyama set the phone on his lap, pressed the pads of his fingers to his closed eyes and rubbed in a circular motion. All that hour nap had done was make him more tired. Though the text was greatly appreciated, the buzzing had woken him up from his nap a good half hour before the alarm was supposed to go off. He glanced down at Hinata who was nuzzling the side of his thigh, wrapping his arms around Kageyama's leg in an attempt to make up for the loss of Kageyama's warm chest. _He was so freaking precious._ Kageyama rested his hand on top of Hinata's head, absentmindedly twirling the unruly and soft strands around his index finger as he wrote a quick reply to his dad.

Hinata stirred a bit, slowly opening his eyes with a low hum. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at Kageyama with a silly, dazed smile.

"Hey." Hinata landed a soft kiss onto Kageyama's outer thigh and ghosted his lips upward, giving Kageyama's hip a light bite. He sat up with a loud yawn. "How long have you been up?

"A few minutes. A text from my dad woke me up."

"How's your mom doing?" Hinata reached over to the nightstand for his phone, checking to see if he had new notifications.

 **From: Natsu**

Call me as soon as you can.

"My dad said she's doing fine." Kageyama looked over to Hinata who had a puzzled look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Natsu just texted me to tell me to call her."

"Then do it," Kageyama urged.

"Yeah, I know. I will right now."

Hinata dialed his sister's phone number but the voice that picked up was unrecognizable. It was gruff, strained, and interrupted by a quick succession of coughs.

"Nii-san?" Natsu croaked.

"Natsu? You sound horrible." Hinata bunched the comforter with his hand. "Did you get sick?"

"Yeah. There was something like an epidemic in my class and—" Another painful bout of hoarse coughs. "And me and all my friends now have what we think is the flu."

"Do you want me to go bring you something?"

"No, no. Mom's taking care of me. My friends and I were going to go to Wheels because I got free tickets and food coupons for an all day roller-skating event today. But now we can't go. Can you take the tickets and go with Kageyama, or something? I don't want them to go to waste."

Hinata glanced over at Kageyama with a sly grin. "Yeah, that sounds fun. I'll go pick them up later."

"I have four tickets." She sneezed, and then sniffled while whining. Natsu wasn't one to ever be helpless or pathetic, so it was kind of cute. "Should I try to call someone else for the other two?"

"No, it's fine. I have two other friends I was thinking of inviting."

"Oh, okay. That's good. Mom will give you the tickets. I'm going to go pass out now."

Hinata chuckled and said tenderly, "I hope you feel better soon. Thanks for the tickets."

"No problem. Bye."

Hinata whipped his head towards Kageyama with a beaming wide smile and dramatic jazz hands. "Guess who just got us the best date ever."

Kageyama raised an eyebrow, suspicion blatant. "What would that be?"

"Okay, it's actually going to be a double date." Hinata got up on his knees and swung a leg around to Kageyama's other side, straddling him. He placed a hand on each of Kageyama's cheeks to assure that Kageyama would fall for his very convincing, and lethal charm. "And, we're going roller-skating."

"That sounds like a crappy date, " Kageyama groaned. "I suck at anything that involves my feet being off the ground."

"I'll teach you!" Hinata lightly patted Kageyama's cheeks. "I'm pretty good, and my sister has said I'm a great teacher."

"Fine," Kageyama relented with a sigh. "But I decide our next date."

Hinata kissed Kageyama's nose. "Thank you! It'll be so fun."

"Where did you get these tickets from anyhow?"

"My sister. Her and her friends caught the flu so she's giving me her tickets."

Kageyama wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist. By now, it was practically instinctual. "And what did you mean by double date?"

"I'm going to invite Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. Duh."

Kageyama snorted, "Yeah. No. No way in hell will Tsukishima agree to it. If he actually does that mean he's completely _whipped_."

Hinata snickered and raised an eyebrow. "Want to bet on it? I'm 100% sure Yamaguchi will be able to convince Tsukishima."

"Okay, I bet that Tsukishima will say no. What am I getting when I win?"

Hinata stuck his tongue out. "Nothing, because I am winning."

"Don't be a brat." Kageyama kneaded his fingers up and down Hinata's sides until he was squirming. "What are we betting?"

"S-Stop, it's ticklish, " Hinata huffed between laughs. "A special naughty request. How about that?"

Kageyama grinned, settling his fingers. "That works. Hurry up, text Yamaguchi."

"Okay, okay Mr. Impatient." Hinata grabbed his phone and typed out a pleading text that was very heavy with caps lock. "Anyhow, we both benefit from Yamaguchi convincing him. He has a car right? Going to this place by train is a bit of a pain."

"Yeah, Yoshino-san lets him use her car all the time. And it's Saturday so he should probably be lazing around with Yamaguchi. But that's not the issue." Kageyama playfully shoved Hinata off of him and got up from the bed. "Tsukishima _hates_ doing anything that'll make him look stupid. Roller-skating definitely falls under that category."

"No wonder you two are friends, " Hinata sneered.

Kageyama took off his shirt and threw it at Hinata's face. "You're about to go on this date by yourself."

Hinata giggled, reaching forward to hug Kageyama's waist. He nuzzled his face against Kageyama's abs and peered up through batted eyelashes. "I promise to stop joking. Don't ditch me."

"I wont, idiot." Kageyama patted down Hinata's bed hair but it wouldn't budge. How the hell did this kid deal with his hair? "Is there any way you have a shirt that would fit me?"

"Probably not." Hinata laughed through his nose and paced over to his dresser. "Although, I think I have an oversized t-shirt that _might_ look purposefully snug on you. Let me see…"

"If you can't find any, it's fine. I'll just wear mine from yesterday." Kageyama slipped into his jeans, eyes wandering around the room and landing on the abandoned food tray. "Crap, I need to eat the breakfast."

Hinata threw a black shirt on the bed. "Try that one. And yeah you do, since you promised." He picked up the tray from the nightstand and walked to the door. "I'll heat it up in the microwave. I already ate this morning, so you can eat it while I get dressed."

"Ok." Kageyama put on the black crew shirt, and to his surprise, it fit just a bit tighter that how he usually wore his. He smoothed his hands over the shirt and nodded to himself; it certainly helped that the material was somewhat stretchy. Satisfied, he turned to join Hinata in the kitchen, but stopped when he heard an unfamiliar buzz. He searched the bed and found Hinata's phone, with a new text from Yamaguchi. He didn't want to be invasive so he resisted the burning urge to read the text summary, and instead brought the phone to Hinata.

"Our bet result is in, " He said as he passed the phone to Hinata.

Hinata placed the reheated breakfast and an iced coffee on the short living room table and Kageyama followed closely behind with his stomach growling loudly. Hinata quietly read the text as he lowered himself to the floor to sit besides Kageyama, who was now inhaling the food on the plate, bet momentarily forgotten.

Hinata leaned his back against Kageyama's side and slightly threw his head back to say in a singsong voice, "I won."

Kageyama nearly choked, and grabbed at his iced coffee to help push the food down. " _No way_."

Hinata gave him his phone. "See for yourself."

The message was short. Yamaguchi simply explained with few words and an equal amount of emoticons, that although he was planning to sulk the whole day and Yamaguchi owed him a dinosaur movie marathon, he had accepted to go. Kageyama didn't know Tsukishima had fallen this hard. Truthfully, he didn't know Tsukishima would ever love someone enough to put their happiness over his own comfort. On one hand it was extremely shocking, and in the other, Kageyama couldn't help but feel happy for him. (Though he'd never tell him. They didn't get sappy like that— it was practically a nonverbal contract between the two of them.)

Kageyama whistled, lips curling up into a tiny grin. "He's completely whipped. Yamaguchi must be a god."

"I'd say he's more of an angel. Either way, you really shouldn't have underestimated him." Hinata stood up, snatching his phone from Kageyama, and petting him on the head as one would a dog. "I look forward to my request."

Kageyama groaned. "Just don't make it too wild, okay? I might not look it but I'm pretty vanilla."

Hinata chuckled as he walked back to his bedroom. "Oh, _trust me_. You look it. "

Kageyama took the dishes to the sink and washed them all the while grumbling to himself. Yeah, _okay_. Joking about Tsukishima being infatuated with Yamaguchi was hypocritical since he currently was _extremely whipped._ He was _so_ whipped he was basically fluffy vanilla frosting on Hinata's little pinky. The Kageyama of a few years ago would call the current him pathetic. But Kageyama of today was, strangely, okay with this. He no longer was scared about being vulnerable around Hinata (after all, he did cry like a fucking baby yesterday), and he was sure to hell and back that Hinata would never take advantage of him. Mutual love—it was the best-case scenario, and he was determined to not let it go to waste.

"So what's the game plan?" Kageyama wiped his wet hands on his jeans and sat on the edge of the bed, eyes following Hinata's fingers as they zipped up his navy shorts.

Hinata poked around in his nightstand. "They're on their way to pick us up. We then go to my parent's house to pick up the tickets, and then we're on our way." He turned to Kageyama with furrowed eyebrows. "Have you seen my keys?"

"I think I saw them on the living room table? You should know where you keep your keys, stupid."

Hinata jogged out of the room, hand grabbing at his buzzing phone in his pocket as he scanned the table. "Yamaguchi said to go down—oh, I found them! You see, what's the point remembering where I put crap when I have my lovely husband to do it for me?"

 _This evil, mischievous, irritating, and enchanting little devil._

Kageyama sighed and shook his head, following Hinata to the front door. "I don't remember ever getting a proposal."

"Wait, really? I haven't proposed yet?" Hinata's voice was light, and teasing, " _Strange_."

* * *

"This _would_ be one of your favorite places, " Tsukishima sneered as they walked into Wheels. "Everyone here is your height."

"Yamaguchi, tell your boyfriend that I'm going to trip him so that he lands on that snarky little face of his." Hinata distributed the tickets and food coupons, purposefully giving Tsukishima's share to Yamaguchi. "And sure, there are a lot of kids and teens. But adults like coming here too."

Kageyama smirked. "You mean the parents? I'm sure they're not here by choice."

"It looks fun." Yamaguchi jumped in, placing a gentle hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"At least one person isn't being a total jerk."

Hinata led them to the rental room where they traded their coupons for skates in their size. Hinata chose inline skate, or blades, since he preferred them, and urged Kageyama to do the same since they were 'cooler'. Tsukishima insisted he only agreed to come along, not skate, and adamantly stood in the corner of the room until Yamaguchi asked him if he was okay with Yamaguchi skating all by himself. He replied he wasn't and both of them agreed on the usual roller skates.

They laced and buckled up, Hinata helping Kageyama with his and letting Yamaguchi, who was used to ice-skating and had roller-skated once before, handle the grumpy Tsukishima. When Kageyama and Tsukishima went to stand up, they both struggled, holding on to their more experienced partner, but they learned to walk properly and not like newborn penguins after a few steps. It took Kageyama a tiny bit longer to figure out how to balance his weight, but Hinata explained that inline skates were often harder for beginner skaters since all their weight was in a straight line instead of four points like in roller skates.

"I figured roller skates wouldn't be enough of a challenge for you, " Hinata taunted and pulled Kageyama along as he rushed to the rink.

Kageyama fell on his ass the moment his wheels touched the wood. Hinata reassured him that it happened to everyone, and that no, not every kid in the rink was staring at him. Hinata was a cheerful, gentle teacher. He babied Kageyama, taking his hands and starting from the very basics. He had Kageyama practice standing up straight, bending his knees slightly, so not to hurt his lower back, and pushing off from a 'T' position. Kageyama would grumble, and get frustrated, but he would watch and listen carefully. After getting down the "T" position, he learned to balance his weight on one foot, and finally he was taking baby steps while tightly holding Hinata's hand.

It was true, Kageyama hated looking stupid, though a little less than Tsukishima, but loved the way Hinata's face lit up with laughter whenever he did something particularly clumsy. He loved the tension in Hinata's arms when holding him steady, and the strong grip of his hands when preventing him from falling. He loved Hinata's warm fingers slotted between his, and they emboldened him to take longer strides, just so he could keep up with the vibrant beam of light besides him. The blades were unbelievably smooth when gliding across the wood—it felt like flying. And all of Kageyama's complaints and inhibitions were soon forgotten.

"Are you having fun?" Hinata asked, pulling them to the rink wall to catch their breaths.

Kageyama leaned against the wall and nodded, "I am." He looked out into the crowd, spotting Yamaguchi and Tsukishima skating steadily and holding hands. It drove Kageyama up the fucking wall that 'cute' for the first word that came to his head, but it did. "We all seem to be having fun."

Hinata followed Kageyama's gaze and giggled. "Yeah. They're a surprisingly adorable couple."

"They are." Kageyama shifted his gaze to Hinata, whose cheeks where pink from the exercise. He looked so damn beautiful no matter what he did. "You said you were really good at rollerblading, right? Show me some of your tricks."

"Oh, so you want to see some of my moves?" Hinata grinned and rollerbladed backwards along the outer wall to put some space between the both of them. He skated towards Kageyama again but this time on one leg, the other a few inches above the working foot, and swerving side to side. He spun twice right in front of Kageyama, and skated backwards again, this time lowering himself on one bent foot, the other floating in the air straight out in front of him. Hinata grabbed hold of the wall on the opposite side of the rink and waved at Kageyama, motioning him to come. Kageyama started skating over, but midway decided to do something very stupid he immediately regretted—he bent his knees and lowered himself really close to the ground to half-mimic the move Hinata had tried before. What Kageyama didn't know about lowering his center of gravity was that the skates naturally swerved in order to keep him balanced, and that getting up was harder than just letting himself crash to the ground. Seeing his alarm, Hinata came to his rescue, trying to pull Kageyama up before he crashed into the wall, but that small body didn't have enough strength to completely stop Kageyama, and so they both wiped out. It didn't hurt terribly bad, in the last second Hinata had used his back break to slow them down somewhat, and Kageyama's back against the wood finished the job. Hinata managed to avoid skinning his knees by landing on Kageyama, and Kageyama somehow only bruised his butt and forearms from the short backwards fall.

Hinata got up on all fours, and opened his eyes; face only a few millimeters away from Kageyama's. "Why?" He laughed, uninhibited, words unable to leave his mouth for a few moments. "Why would you do something so dumb?"

Kageyama stared up at him with tender, glossy eyes and chuckled along. "I don't know, it's just…" He ran his thumb across Hinata's lips. "I thought it'd make you laugh. I love the sound of your laughter."

Hinata placed his hand on top of Kageyama's and pressed his lips to his thumb. "Is that all you love?"

"It's not." Kageyama steadied his eyes on Hinata's golden ones, swallowed, and clearly said, "I love you."

Hinata's lips curved into a wide grin and he threw himself onto Kageyama, arms wrapping tightly around his neck. He pressed his lips to Kageyama's neck and whispered, "Finally. I was afraid to say it first because I wasn't sure if that was what you wanted. I love you so much. I've loved you from the moment I sat across from you in that Lotteria."

Kageyama laughed through his nose and smoothed the back of Hinata's hair with one hand. "For me it was probably since the first night I stayed over at your place."

"We could have told each other so much earlier…"

"Do you want to go out with me?" Kageyama muttered.

"Yes. Of course I freaking want to go out with you. It's the first thing I've wanted this bad in decades." Hinata untangled himself from Kageyama and got up. "We should go get something to eat and take our time talking. Also if we stayed there any longer we'd attract even more attention." He extended a hand.

Kageyama shook his head. "That's exactly how we got here." Instead, he crawled over to the wall and used it to help himself up. "Why is rollerblading this humiliating."

Hinata grabbed Kageyama's hand and slowly lead them to the exit, "It's only because you suck."

All Kageyama had to do was hold Hinata's hand a little tighter and he would have noticed its slight trembling and the pulse of Hinata's erratic heartbeat.


End file.
